A Murderer's Miracle
by TheTrueJuliet
Summary: Is it possible for Scar to change his ways if he forgot who he was? When he looses his memory in a freak accident, he is taken in by a poor, but humble lion family. But when he wanders back into the Pride Lands, everyone is furious and demands answers. Scar can't recognize anyone... and he can't figure out why everyone is so angry with him.
1. Author's Note

_Author's Note:_

Never fear! I know there have been a lot of questions arising as to where this story has gone, but this is going to be my final attempt to upload it. I took it down a few times because not only did it need serious reconstruction, I was slightly changing the storyline. I tweaked some characters personalities, spent a little more time editing, etc. Now it is here to stay on FanFiction. I don't promise immediate updates every week, or even every few weeks, but this time it is going to _stay_ up. I will work on it whenever I can for my readers. I can't believe how popular it got and I want to thank all of you who reviewed this story first time around. I enjoy writing and entertaining people, and I am glad to know I wrote something that people on FanFiction actually _like_.

It is a rarity to have so much positive feedback on just a FanFic. Enjoy and review. :)

_~TheTrueJuliet._


	2. Cheating Death

…After a few awkward tumbles as he plummeted down a steep ledge, a jolting pain instantly struck into his right side once he finally crashed to the ground, nearly knocking him unconscious.

The nerve of his nephew.

He laid there for only a few moments, but it seemed _far _much longer in his mind. Thoughts about what had just happened were lingering, swirling around in his head. In his stupor, he attempted to at least stand up. Perhaps he still had a chance.

Blinking his eyes open, he couldn't see much around him- except, of course, for the fiery inferno surrounding him. The flames noisily ate away at dry shrubbery and grass.

Then, out of the flickering fire before him, three figures made their way up on a boulder, glaring rather maliciously at him with yellow eyes.

Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.

A rush of relief came over Scar. Surely _they_ would help him overthrow Simba and his allies. If they hurried, they could still win!

"Ahhh, my friends," Scar began to say, pulling his old flattery trick on them. Suddenly, his hyena trio appeared although they couldn't believe their ears.

"'_Friends'?_" Shenzi chuckled as she quoted him. She glanced over to Banzai. "I thought he said we were the _'enemy'._" She and Banzai grinned deviously.

"_Yeah!_ That's what I heard," Banzai agreed, showing his bared teeth as he grinned.

It began sinking in for Scar. The realization that they were no longer on his side. Unadulterated horror flooded within Scar, filling him all the way to the marrow of his bones.

No.

How _stupid_ could he have been? His previous conversation with his nephew, Simba… how he had _blamed_ the hyenas for Mufasa's murder… his henchmen proved to be smarter than they looked.

Shenzi and Banzai then crept their glance over to their last member in their trio, curiously asking for his opinion.

"…_Ed?_" they said together.

Ed the hyena, who Scar once thought to be quite the idiot, grinned along with them. But this time, it was completely different.

It was _not_ his usual idiotic grin.

"Eh, he he he. He he," he chuckled, his tongue came across his lips in a smack, revealing the shine off his teeth. It honestly scared Scar, finally noticing how sharp hyena's teeth were.

But it didn't matter anymore, because he had just noticed that all the other hyena packs, male and female members, were slowly moving closer to him, shoulders hunched, and grinning wickedly at him. All of their eyes eerily glowed an unpleasant green color. To add to Scar's rising fear, they all gave whines of frightening laughter.

Scar took a step back.

Nothing could be done. It dawned on him that this was going to be it. He was about to experience the cruel side of nature.

"No, l-l-let, let me explain!" Scar protested, shakily stepping back. His mind ran off with all sorts of excuses. "No, you don't understand! No! I didn't mean-"

The hyenas cornered him against the back of a rock wall, grinning evilly, saliva running down their daggered teeth. The disturbing smiles on their faces, the looks in their _eyes_… it was almost too frightening to look at. Scar couldn't keep the terror locked up any longer.

"NO! NO!" Scar shouted over their wicked laughter. He stepped back, hitting the back of a red rock wall. "No, honestly, I-"

The hyenas hunched lower to the ground, their grins remaining on their faces. They prepared to pounce. Scar pressed himself against the back of the rock wall, shielding himself.

"NO, GET OFF!" But one hyena jumped at him, much too soon to Scar's liking. He truthfully almost yelped, and mouthful of fangs punctured into the side of his neck, along with plenty of others.

The hyenas tore at Scar's neck, ripping out tufts of his mane. Scar knew he was done for, but he swiped them away fearfully, fighting back for his life.

The hyenas that had their teeth already pierced under his skin began to violently shake their head, ripping away his body in growls. Pain began to rise increasingly throughout Scar's system. Some hyenas had made it to his spine already, hanging ruthlessly to his muscles. The fire around them roared like a reckless storm, trapping both Scar and the hyenas inside a circle of a blazing inferno.

It would take a miracle to get out of this one.

Then, out of the sky, water began to fall upon the fire.

Scar tried to run, straining himself to move away from the hyenas, who mercilessly clamped their jaws around slabs of his skin, slowly ripping in the process of his escape. Scar cringed as he made his way forward. Now blood was spouting. But the rain had gotten to his flesh, slightly- only slightly- easing the pain.

The sky had gotten dark and black, and the fire around them all had droned out, leaving bits of glowing embers.

The ground beneath the hyenas and Scar was getting drenched.

The dirt was transforming into mud, sinking Scar's legs deeper into the ground. Mud clung onto hyena and lion fur. The pressure of the constant movement above the ground was doing something to the thin, soaked ground. Rain was seeping deeper under the mud...

Scar was about ready to stop trying to make an escape… and let the hyenas lead him to his fate.

Nobody noticed at first… and Scar could have been hallucinating- but the ground beneath their feet was… sinking.

The hyenas slowly started to take note of this. One after another, they paused what they were doing and released hold on Scar. The hyena packs peered into the ground. Their paws were caked in black, wet mud… which was sinking up to their ankles… their knees…

The ground then suddenly sped up the process until to everyone's sudden surprise, the whole ground beneath them fell down into chunks of mud like a trapdoor, sending the hyenas- and Scar- plunging down under the earth.

"Whah-!" Shenzi suddenly yelped, as she and the rest of her kind tumbled down into a blackened tunnel.

This _tunnel_… was recently constructed by meerkats.

Scar was falling with them- but he thought quicker than any of them. He slammed his paws fiercely into the ground in front of him, stopping him from falling further under the meerkat tunnel. His claws were staked in black mud.

Scar's hind legs dangled under the ground, while the upper half of his body was clawing the mud for friction to stop from sinking. He had created a few stray claw streaks in the mud, but Scar finally found a secure hold on the ground.

Scar didn't have to hold on very hard, having the mud lock his paws into the ground.

The old lion had a dreading feeling that any second, he was going to feel a jolt of pain from one of his back legs- by some hyena chomping into it and dragging him down under. But he had a reassured feeling that they all were long gone beneath the muddy burrow, unable to hear their voices or movements anymore.

He wasn't terribly injured, but Scar had now become weary beyond belief. He breathed in and out silently and leaned forward into the ground. He rested the side of his head into the mud, closing his eyes. This wasn't exactly the most dignified position for a king, but Scar truthfully didn't care. He was alive, which was all he cared for at this point.

Thunder gently rolled in the distance as rain continued to patter down onto the earth. Scar wasn't thinking about anything in particular other than resting for a few moments. He knew he was getting soaked with water, and his fur must have been caked in black mud, but once again, he didn't care.

Scar just listened to his lungs whistle as rain hit the ground around his head. The temperature of the rain was dropping, but it was tolerable. Scar then heard the faint roar of an animal… coming from Pride Rock.

_Simba_. Scar concluded.

His nephew was king. Simba was at the highest, noblest peak of the Pride Lands, while _Scar's_ pride was off to the side for the moment. Just struggling to just be back up on the surface of the ground.

It dawned on Scar that he couldn't stay suspended above in this hole forever. He had to climb back up.

Scar lifted his head, bringing a coat of mud back up, and pulled his paw up off the ground to climb, but he inched down, sinking deeper.

"-MN!" Scar's face contorted and immediately clawed at the ground again, stopping his fall.

His dead brother suddenly came to Scar's mind… how Mufasa had struggled to stay planted on that cliff in the same fashion. This was going to be harder than Scar originally thought.

He took a few moments to recover… bracing himself to try again.

Scar raised a hind leg below and placed it into the wall of the burrow, struggling to push himself up and out. He scrambled into the mud, bringing himself out of the hole, and finally back up on solid ground.

Scar limped away from the collapsing burrow and headed to a slate of rock, hitting his flanks against the side to catch his breath and rest.

Rain continued to pour down upon him, soaking his fur.

He had tumbled off of a three-story cliff. Nearly scorched alive. Practically mauled to death by hyenas. And almost went tumbling underground with them- but he was alive. He was still functioning. His heart still operating, his senses still working. The finger of death had not touched him. Came _near_ him, but it had not come upon him… Scar would live to see the sun again.

That was fact.

Scar was beginning to realize that fact as he wheezed quietly. A smirk slowly spread across his face.

He then chuckled, thunder rolling faintly. Flashes of white danced over green eyes. Then disappeared. Scar sighed.

Scar then _really _took note of the rain. He saw enormous clouds. Rainwater was flying, surging down out of the heavens.

Scar tilted his head back.

He hadn't appreciated such a thing since…

Well.

Never.

He filled his lungs with chill and air, and let rainwater kiss his face. The pride of lionesses at Pride Rock gave a faint, but unified, majestic roar. Declaring all throughout the savannah that they had a new king.

For the first time in his life… Scar… couldn't care any less.

He shut his eyes and chuckled again, but it was harder. Scar was soaked. His mane, his beard, everything. All he was did was breathe. Live. Pure bliss to his bones.

Scar's eyes then came open.

He knew what he was going to do.

Scar let his head fall away from the sky, and pushed his wounded body forward... away from the premises. He had to leave the area quickly if the pride was going to believe this.

Scar walked on, heading toward wide open land. It wasn't that hard for the wounded lion to move about. He could even run if he was cautious of his condition.

Scar began to quicken his step, fleeing in the opposite direction of Pride Rock. He then stopped when he noticed a small stream of running water along the ground, and grassland next to it.

A quick decision had to be made.

Running through the grass would eliminate Scar's tracks, but would still have his scent along the ground. Whereas the stream would eliminate both.

_The water way_. Scar thought. _No scent… and visable tracks will wash away._

Without further adieu, Scar jogged straight into the small, running stream, trotting along the path, with water splattering against his ankles. Genius.

Regarding what his nephew ever so kindly suggested... he'd run away.

But everyone would all be in for quite a surprise in the far future.

* * *

"…_He makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous."_

_-Matthew 5:45_


	3. Hunting Accident

She paced around, obviously showing she was considering it. After what had happened with her deal with Kheeva, she certainly wasn't in any mood to make another one.

The sun was beginning to rise in a small, dusty canyon in the middle of Africa, just on the outskirts of the Pride Lands.

The individual, who was a black-baked jackal named Mauti, flicked her tail a bit. She was nonplussed… and frustrated just thinking about agreeing to this.

What if this was a trick? What if this lioness was lying?

Her sister, Faraa, simply sat and watched her pace around. She wore a plain smile and blinked silently… wondering what her older sister was thinking.

But next to Faraa was the source of all of this serious pondering: a lean, and rather rugged lioness… stood darkly in front of the two jackals- with a firm smirk spread across her face. Her eyes gleamed like bloodstained gemstones… watching the struggling jackal.

It was the former Outlander queen, Zira.

Mauti quickly turned around, going back up on her line of pacing. Her glaring eyes never left the ground.

Zira continued to wait silently… patiently. She really had no expression on her face. The jackal could take as long as she needed to make a decision. Zira had all the time in the world.

Oh, she would wait for _decades _if it involved him. Anything, really- involving him.

Mauti continued to pace. Her paws made up most of the conversation.

_Pit-pit, pat-pat_.

This was getting a little tiring, however, and Zira decided to speak up to help her make a decision.

"_Well?_" she pressed, waiting for her answer.

The jackal's face contorted into something hateful, and whipped her head back around to Zira.

"_DON'T…_ rush my able judgment!" Mauti scolded her.

Her voice echoed off a few canyon walls they were standing under.

Zira blinked, and immediately bared her teeth... ever so slightly. She felt an angry spark ignite in her blood… but she refrained from showing it.

She simply _could not _to do anything that might make these jackals say no.

This was for him. All for him. No wonder he used the hyenas to help him out on his little undertaking. Animals like hyenas and jackals were all scavengers. They were all desperate for food, and too lazy to work.

This was the best thing at being at the top of the food chain… you had every other animal under your paw.

Mauti was still walking around, her black nose hovering over the ground.

Finally, her little sister Faraa blew upwards on the tuft of gray fur that always hung over her eye.

"It's free food, Mauti. We won't have to look for it anymore," she reminded her, just like a scavenging animal would. "And she's a lion. She eats meat, like us… not like Kheeva. Maybe this time we won't be turned on."

Mauti then slowed down her pace to a halt… and then glanced up at her sister.

Faraa was looking quite hopeful, displaying a small, reassuring smile, tilting her head.

"Oh," Mauti began softly. "…Looking at the silver lining in the clouds, are we, Faraa?"

Faraa immediately beamed a grin. She closed her eyes, nodding enthusiastically at her sister.

Mauti sat down where she was, claiming a seat. She faced Faraa, returning dripping a smile at her.

"How optimistic of you," she said, pondering to herself. "Just like you always are! Certainly we cannot be turned on by a _lion_. No, sir, not a _lion_… what are the odds?"

Mauti's smile vanished with a flash, revealing just how sarcastic she was.

"Especially when we were just duped by... _the __lowest __organism on the __food chain__!_" Her words tore through the dry air, screaming repetitively into the canyon.

Faraa quickly jerked back with round, gold eyes… wishing she hadn't spoken anything at all.

Zira did not move. Nor did she become remotely affected by her fierce answer.

The older jackal's voice went soft again when she spoke. Mauti raised a paw inquisitively. "If we were betrayed by a dirt-digging, movable feast… what in the world makes you presume a _lion _would be any less above our suspicion? "

"I will assure you," Zira began, beginning to stand up. "There is no need for suspicion. I am true to my word. You two shouldn't use meerkats to scrounge up food for you. You two are _far _better than that."

Mauti glanced in Zira's direction. She could see straight through her compliment. Her face morphed into disgust.

"Don't try to flatter me into doing your bidding, madam," she answered her darkly. "I am a saleswoman. That's _my _job."

Zira, tightly fixed her mouth shut. She glared a little.

Mauti scoffed and turned around again to pace some more.

Zira felt rage glowing under her skin… pressing on her nerves. She passionately wanted to scream back at this impudent jackal. Or _smack_ her. But then they would _surely_ say no. Then what would she do?

Zira closed her eyes. And breathed.

_Don't get angry. _She thought to herself.

_Scar. Scar. Don't get angry… for Scar._

"So all we gotta do…" Faraa began, "…Is round up a bunch of lions? And we get free food?"

Zira had opened her eyes. She looked to Faraa and smiled.

Faraa looked a little perplexed. "It's that easy?"

"That's right," Zira told her… beginning to get up on all four legs. "You do this one, solitary thing for _me_, I give you one, large feast. After the final confrontation."

She sauntered around Faraa.

"…And don't worry… there's enough for you, and the entire army you assemble together."

Faraa looked to the ground and pulled in her lips to think. A little paycheck for all the work she and Mauti would have to do? It was too good to be true.

But something about this lioness's attitude wasn't quite certain. Not to mention with her bloodshot red eyes, half-bitten ear, she looked a little bit on the edge. She and Mauti didn't even know her… she could have… _mental issues _for all they knew.

But she did say the food was _free_…

"Where are you even gonna get all the meat?" Faraa innocently queried her. Zira then briefly smiled, thinking about how to word this.

"Ohh," she began, smirking a little bit more mischievously than before. "Where it comes from doesn't matter."

Faraa was still not satisfied with her answer. She decided to ask her another question... like a child endlessly asking from a parent for more knowledge about a certain topic.

"-But why do you _want _so many lionesses, anyway?"

"-My dear, have you ever tried to go up against an army of twenty lionesses by yourself? It's unheard of!" Zira retorted, smirking quite happily. "I will need as many lionesses available in the savannah."

"Assemble an army of lionesses for you…?" Mauti said. "That sounds just short of impossible."

Zira then whirled around to look at Mauti.

"And _laborious_," Mauti continued… her brows beginning to narrow sharply. "Sounds like you're taking advantage of us, Madam."

_One more word, runt. _Zira thought hotly. _One more word…_

Zira kept calm. She inched over to an irritated Mauti.

"Well, if you truthfully feel it's not worth it…" she began. "The time… the effort… you can opt out now. It is optional, mind you, and you both are under no obligation."

"We're traveling entrepreneurs," Mauti said. "Not recruiting agents for lions."

Zira calmly blinked, appearing worn out. She then offered a suggestion.

"…Then you two can use your…" she paused. Zira tightened her lips… thinking of the correct word.

"…_Talents…_ to persuade others. If you're _that_ unwilling to work, then you can walk away now."

At this, Faraa then suddenly appeared horrified. The innocent jackal swung her head in the direction of her sister. She vigorously shook her head behind Zira.

Mauti caught sight of this… and displayed an ugly frown to her.

This was pathetic. Ironic, even. Her sister… her own flesh and blood was falling for a sales offer. When the twist was- they did _this _for a living.

Faraa suddenly lifted both her paws and pressed them together… silently pleading for her sister to make the _right _choice.

Mauti gave her a dirty little look, continuing their silent communication without Zira's knowing. Faraa's eyes… her round, gold orbs looked so desperate.

Of course, this was just like Faraa. A little kid, trying to seize hold of a treat offered to her.

"Well," Mauti said, "My younger sister and comrade seems _eager_ enough to do the work…"

Faraa quietly mouthed words to Mauti: _free meat! Free meat!_ her mouth lip-synched. She was still pressing her paws together.

Mauti finally rolled her eyes… heaving a grand sigh. Her feet turned to face Zira with a decision.

"But I'm not taking pity on you, Madam," she said coldly. "Your sniveling story about your lost love, and your avengement is nice and all… and how you fell into a river because you were too stupid to think things through. I've been through far worse, my dear. We should be the ones coming to you for help. We'll do it. But I am doing this for my sister and I… not you."

Normally, Zira would have lost all self-composure and lunged for the animal's jugular on the spot.

And she wanted to... she really, sincerely wanted to.

But Mauti said yes. In an indirect, rude way… but she said yes.

Zira smirked.

The idiots. Foolish… clueless idiots.

She was going to make sure this jackal was going to have nightmares from this whole experience.

"…A wise choice you have made," she finished softly. Her smirk was still displayed proudly across her face.

Faraa suddenly jumped to her paws, smiling triumphantly. She giggled and leapt over to Mauti's side.

Zira kept the smirk on her face... and turned away from them both.

The Pride Lands had no idea. No idea she was still alive.

Her plan… was finally underway. For him. The true king of the Pride Lands. Her king that was gone, now.

And this time- Zira would not fail.

* * *

At this same hour, many miles far east of the Sahara desert, the sun mercilessly beat down where no animal could even dream of living. It was rare for any creature to live this far out towards the edge of the desert, but on it's outskirts- there was in fact, a regular resident.

A small herd of eland was resting during this hour of the day, finding a spot near a shady tree in the middle of some grassland. A few wandering eland were grazing the grass, blissfully unaware of a lurking predator.

A small twig snapped, and the head of a stray eland shot up, scanning the area.

Moments later, a blur of red-brown sprang from among a thicket of grass, charging straight for the animal with a roar.

The frightened eland sprinted off in the other direction, getting it's herd's attention. The eland herd quickly ran off with their member in the same fashion, avoiding their attacker: a lion with a scar over his left eye.

The lion began running after it, but the eland herd was running even faster. He slowed the pace of his run, realizing he wouldn't be able to catch up with it.

Every day it went like this. Living out on his own for more than enough years, Scar had to adjust nearly every detail of his lifestyle. Including getting his own food. This was a day in the life of banishment.

It was a lioness's job to hunt… and he was not a lioness. Scar _despised _work… and despised doing this much of it. And with the aged condition he was in, he was nowhere near fit enough to do it.

Old Scar was breathing hard, watching his meal fade off towards a small canyon with a few rocky cliffs in the distance. He glared at the herd from across the grassland. It seemed although everything he went after was faster than him. It was nearly impossible, if not _humiliating_. Lionesses... _girls_ could do it. But Scar hadn't eaten for almost two days, and he wasn't about to give up this early.

The eland herd was settling down towards the canyon, beginning to rest again. A few of them grazed about again on the ledge for grass. This was the opportune time.

As quickly as he could, and quietly as he could, Scar made his way behind a few thickets of dry grass, eyeing the eland herd from behind. A single, young eland walked about, being the closest one to Scar's field of vision.

If any of them spotted Scar again, he would have to mind those razor-sharp horns of theirs if they chose to fight back for that young one. (He wasn't about to get another scar over his _other_ eye).

Scar paused in the grass... recalling.

Memories. That was not a good day. The day the name 'Taka' would leave him forever, and plague him with the name, 'Scar'. Reminding him day after day of how stupid an idea that was. No matter how hard he tried... no matter how much he pushed it away... anger always got the better of him.

The eland herd was minding their own business, eating and strolling along. They were unaware of the quiet killer crouched behind the tall grass.

Scar's eyes slowly sank to the ground. He was beginning to realize... this was the kind of life he got for letting anger take control of him- again.

If he would have just let it go. If he never did what he did... he wouldn't be exiled out here... in the merciless desert. With no one knowing- or even caring that he was fighting to stay alive. For how much longer?

Scar's eyes went back up to the animal herd in the distance. A breath of hot wind came through behind him. It breezed through his mane, over the eland herd and through the parched grass. Then faded to nothing.

His life was coming to a close. Scar never thought he'd admit it, but in comparison to what he had... a home, a family... position as a prince... a protective brother... trust with the Pride Lands. _Acceptance_ with the Pride Lands... peace of mind.

Murder... was not one of his better ideas.

…Scar just that minute remembered that he was hungry.

Ah, well, he couldn't let a sudden attack of conscience get the better of him now. He was loosing his focus.

Scar inhaled and crept downward, trying with all effort not to make any noise. He kept his green eyes locked on the younger eland, not even blinking them shut for a single moment. Scar watched it for a bit. It lowered it's head in the grass to eat.

Taking an inaudible step forward, Scar instantly sprang out of the grass again for it, viciously using up his remaining energy.

Sure enough, the young eland's black eyes widened with fear and began prancing back to it's herd- which made all the members notice Scar.

Every member began to scatter, heading downward for the canyon. Scar took off, using his claws to latch onto the ground as he ran. The herd leapt off the ledge, and pranced off a few boulders, and landed on the gorge floor, continuing to sprint off. The boulders they landed on shifted a bit.

Scar did the same, leaping off the ledge of the gorge, and jumping onto the heads of several boulders, not even thinking about the shifting rocks. Once he hit a loose boulder, Scar nearly lost his balance- but instantly sprang off of it, allowing it to tumble down off the ledge behind him. The boulder knocked into a few others… noticeably shifting more rock.

This created distant disturbances along the walls of the canyon.

His paws hit the gorge floor, and Scar immediately followed the herd. Their hooves thundered against the ground, leaping right and left, attempting to confuse the lion chasing after them. Scar swerved inside the herd, noticing a stray eland lagging behind. He saw this as his chance.

Gathering whatever stamina he still had, Scar took an angry, charged pounce for the eland, swiping his paw for it's leg. Fortunately, his claws caught the eland in the flesh, and red streaks instantly formed across it's leg. It gave a whine of pain, but gave a kick backwards to it's attacker, causing dust to fly up in Scar's eyes. He shook it off, and searched for it again in the sea of wild antelope.

They were all approaching a dead end in the canyon, which was a towering barricade of broken rock rubble. Then Scar caught sight of the eland he scratched up, and it was just starting to get away out of fear for it's life.

The old lion was hungry, hot, and frustrated. And two words slipped into Scar's head:

_Not. Today._

Scar took another running leap for the antelope- lashing his claws into the back of it's leg. His smack blew the young eland's balance _way _off course- making it violently hurl downward… tumbling to the dusty ground in defeat.

Scar flashed a smile. He savored the joy of victory as he passed the animal, and slowed to a stop. He immediately turned back around to collect it, but he stopped, beginning to hear the thundering hooves of an eland herd turning _back_.

Scar spun around. And a wave of eland washed right past him. They all appeared to be in a panicked haste.

Scar looked up in the far distance, and something immediately caught his eye.

The massive pile of rock rubble before them all was starting to shift.

Enormous, quavering pieces of rock plunged down off the canyon wall, striking earthquake-scale tremors into ground. The wall of dusty rock then avalanched, rapidly hurdling forward. And it looked like it wasn't going to stop.

Rockslide.

Scar took an unnerving step back from the trundling wave. Then instantly sprang off in the opposite direction, following the eland herd out of the canyon.

The falling mound of rock gathered speed, forcefully gliding along the canyon. The eland herd took it's separate ways, finding their own routes to escape. Some ran off into narrow gaps in the canyon walls and disappeared, which seemed like a wise idea. Scar scanned the sides of the walls for one, but none were in sight.

Suddenly, a small heap of rock washed out in front of Scar from a side alley in the wall, blocking his only escape route. He skidded himself to a halt, caught by surprise. Trapped.

Scar spun around, eyeing the steep mass of rock behind him. It was slowing down, but had potential to kill him. Scar had no other option but to climb over the smaller rock heap.

He gave way to a large eye roll, and jumped up onto the first few rocks in front of him. But in his attempt to escape, Scar failed to see a rather fair-sized piece of rock thudding, slamming down from the massive rockslide behind him- and came crashing over the frame of his head without any warning, splitting into his skull. Pain exploded through Scar's whole system for the briefest instant- his mind suddenly going vacant.

The rockslide rolled into a halt behind him, a few stones skipping off the mound and piling onto his body. Scar then lost consciousness on the other side of the rock pile, oblivious to the world once surrounding him.


	4. Reoccuring Nightmare

"_-Can you believe he picked that little termite?"_

"_-Will I like this surprise?"_

"_-No king! No king! La-la, la-la, la, la!"_

"_-As the king's brother, you should have been first in line!"_

"…_Then you have sentenced us to death!"_

"_-MURDERER!"_

"_-Simba, what is he talking about?"_

"_-No, Simba, please!"_

"_-He's not king, but he's still so proper!"_

"_-Tell them the truth!"_

"_-Hey, daddy… wanna play fight?"_

"_-Truth? But- truth is in the eye of the beho-"_

"…_Brother! Help me!"_

"_-Eh he, he, he, he! Bwa-HA HA, hee ha-ha-ha!"_

"_-What are we supposed to do? Kill Mufasa?"_

"_-Simba! Simba, please, please have mercy! I beg you!"_

"_-You don't deserve to live."_

"…_Of course- quid pro quo, you're expected…"_

"_-But, Simba! I… am… uh, family!"_

"…_To take certain duties aboard…"_

"_-Everything you ever told me was a lie."_

* * *

A ruthless sun beat over a dusty gorge in the sky.

Thundering hooves of blue wildebeest.

And _too _much of a recognizable voice cried out for help.

He had seen this scenario enough times in his dreams to last him a lifetime and a day.

"_Simba…!_"

He turned around, glancing over the ledge of a cliff, finding his father clawing his way up the steep gorge wall.

"_Father…!_" Simba cried out.

Mufasa strained as he dug his claws into the rock to pull himself up. But it was looking hopeless. He needed help.

"…_Simba! Help me!_" Mufasa pleaded. The wildebeest stampede underneath him rumbled on, charging aimlessly through the gorge floor below.

Simba leaned over the edge of the cliff, reaching his paw out towards him. He extended his claws, trying with all effort to take his father's larger paw. Simba had to take hold of the cliff he was leaning over so he didn't loose his balance. Their paws were barely touching.

When… _when_ would these nightmares stop mocking him? It was the same scene, night after night. And at the finale of whatever each nightmare had in store for Simba… his father would never make it up alive. Never.

Through Simba's half-awake conscious, he sensed he was dreaming. He could also sense through the hazy surroundings around him, that at any second now… _he_ was going to show up.

That's how it was. It was always Simba… Mufasa… and _him_.

Simba braced himself, and turned his head to look over his shoulder, keeping watch of the edge of the cliff for his long-forgotten uncle.

To his surprise, nothing was there. There was no sight of him anywhere. At this point in his dreams- he was _always_ standing over them… laughing at them… taunting them like the maniacal monster he was.

Simba thought nothing more of it, and turned his head back to his father. Simba's paw was shaking with the strained effort to take Mufasa's paw. And through some unknown ability Simba wasn't even aware of, he had the extra strength to push himself further towards his father, and… his paw! He had a _hold_ of Mufasa's paw!

It was a first in his dreams.

Simba half-heartedly smiled, tugging him immediately up the gorge wall. Simba didn't dare let his grip go loose on his father. Mufasa made an attempt to climb up.

As Simba happily turned to get them both safely onto the ledge behind him… his worst fear had suddenly made an appearance.

Oh, no.

For once, Simba had succeeded in reaching out for Mufasa. Now… his uncle was about to steal his father away from him. _Again_.

But strangely enough, Scar was there… but he wasn't laughing. He didn't even seem all that amused, as he _always _happened to be. He stood darkly over Simba and his father. Like a shadow foretelling their downfall. Scar just observed them with lifeless, green eyes. He even seemed a bit disgusted.

"_Scar!_"Simba pleaded, desperation filling his heart. He gripped his father's paw tightly behind him. Simba was only _dreading _his uncle's next action.

Was it even possible to reason with such a frigid-hearted murderer, like the one looming over them?

"…_Don't!_" Simba implored.

The dark-maned lion continued to stare. His eyes then met with his nephew's.

Simba observed him closer with narrowed eyes.

Then- the most gruesome smile Simba had even seen his uncle wear across his face, spread gradually upon Scar's lips.

It made Simba's stomach suddenly sick.

"_Father…!_" Mufasa crowed from behind Simba.

Scar glanced over Simba's shoulder with a sinister smirk; and nodded in Mufasa's direction- almost telling Simba to acknowledge it.

Simba spun around. And to his pure horror, the paw he was once holding slipped out from his own. But that wasn't the horrifying part.

"_Daddy!"_ Kiara screamed, her claws sliding down the wall into the stampede.

Simba snapped his eyes open, jolting wide awake with a gasp. His breathing was rapid… and his eyes scanned around Pride Rock's den. The sky outside was getting bluer, and the sun was beginning to come up over the Pride Lands. He had reentered the real world.

Simba glanced around. He could nearly feel his lion heart hammering inside his chest. His pride, and the former Outlands' pride, were all fast asleep amongst the den.

Simba's eyes instantly swept over to his right, checking a small corner of the den. Kiara and Kovu lay sound asleep together, side by side. Kiara gently inhaled and exhaled, so serene in her slumber. She was probably off dreaming of more pleasant things, such as the day she and Kovu were going to marry, which was approaching quickly.

Kiara's peaceful, sleeping face didn't even come close to expressing the undivided terror Simba had just seen on it moments ago.

That was a twist in his night terrors Simba hadn't had before.

Simba breathed out, attempting to relax. He then looked away from the two young lions, and set his head on his paws to go back to sleep.

But then he saw two blue eyes watching him by his side. Simba turned to look at them.

"The nightmares again?" Nala softly asked.

Simba glanced at the den floor, averting eye contact. He exhaled and set his head back on his paws, closing his eyes.

"Yeah," he murmured.


	5. Lost & Found

"_Hamu!_" a lioness called out. She stood on the ledge of a gorge. Her voice echoed off the canyon walls.

She stood firmly on the ledge, scanning the gorge with narrow, green eyes for someone. It was mid-afternoon, and the sky above her was crystal-clear. The lioness' fur was a gold-yellow… and she was just entering her adolescent years.

She then spotted a tiny bundle of gold fur, hiding inside the gorge amongst a couple of fallen boulders.

It was a lion cub.

A rather tubby, _wide-eyed_, lion cub.

"Hamu!" the lioness shouted down into the gorge. "There you are! Get up here! Mother's gonna get me good if you get hurt!"

"…You'll never take me alive, Thamani!" Hamu- the supposed ball of gold- yelled back at her. His childlike voice echoed in the gorge.

Hamu then hopped down off a few rocks, attempting to run away from the lioness.

Thamani… the lioness… sighed with a growl. She didn't have time for this. The teen lioness carefully made her way down the ledge, and hopped down off a boulder onto the gorge floor below. She trotted over towards the rock pile her brother was hiding amongst.

Then she began to examine it.

That pile of rock wasn't here yesterday. It looked relatively new.

Some rocks from the heap of rubble clumbled and rolled to the ground. Hamu hopped off the rubble pile with his pudgy little paws… and jumped down onto the gorge floor with a grunt.

He then spun around, discovering his sister coming over to him.

"Yaaah!" the cub wailed. Hamu whirled around and attempted to escape by leaping over quite a small rock that was in his way- but landed square on top of it, unable to move. Hamu squirmed, trying to climb up… but his access body weight happened to be a problem.

Thamani scoffed. She padded up behind her brother in a hurry.

"…You can't keep wandering off every time mother calls for a bath," she said. "You don't think you're being a _little_ dramatic?"

Hamu's head lifted up, squeezing his eyes shut.

"…I'd rather die than take another bath!"

Thamani's brows narrowed. She suddenly tried to grab Hamu's tail with her paw, but Hamu frantically scratched and clawed his way over the rock with a whimper, flipping over with a flop on the other side.

Without thinking twice, Hamu then decided to crawl inside a dark, small opening under the rock pile. A few loose pieces of rubble in the heap shifted.

"_Hamu!_" Thamani yelled. "You _twit!_ You're gonna get hurt!"

"-AAAHH!" Hamu screamed.

Thamani jumped.

Little Hamu then flipped out of the dark opening backwards. He accidentally flung himself back, and went toppling over a few pieces of rock. But came back up… rather frightened.

"AAH! AAAH! AAGGH!" he screamed. Thamani suddenly went baffled.

"What?"

"Dead guy! _Dead guy!_" Hamu cried out. He suddenly hopped over to his sister's side, hugging her foreleg.

Thamani lifted a brow in amusement… and smirked skeptically.

"…What?" she said, pleasantly baffled. Thamani lowered her head, and began to enter the small opening in the rubble pile to investigate.

"NO!" Hamu yelped. "DON'T! Who _knows _what he's died of!" He then fearfully ran up behind his sister.

"Uh- neurotoxic venom! Food poisoning! _Rabies!_"

Thamani withdrew her head out of the dark opening with a scowl.

"He's not _dead_, you moron," she deadpanned. "He's still breathing. I bet you he got caught in a rockslide."

Thamani then proceeded to stick her head back inside the small opening, digging out a few loose pieces of rock with her muzzle.

Hamu simply watched, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Oh. Rockslide. Heh. Y-yeah. That's not contagious."

He then frowned, glancing around at his surroundings… significantly paranoid.

Thamani then found warm fur under the heap of rocks. She bite down on it, dragging it out of the opening, and exposing it into the sunlight. It was an unconscious, elderly lion. His mane was black, and had russet-brown fur. A scar was visible over his shut, left eye… and a brutal, open wound took up most of the right corner of his head. It was leaking dark fluid, which couldn't be anything other than blood.

It was quite nauseating.

Hamu immediately retched, slapping a small paw over his mouth. His cheeks puffed out and in.

Thamani blinked and glanced over at her brother. "You're such a baby. It just looks like a concussion."

"-I bet he's infected!" Hamu shouted. "You're not contaminating me with those germs. Thamani! What're you _doin'?_ Just leave him for the hyenas!"

Thamani was tugging on the old lion's mane, inching him out from under the rock heap with all her strength.

"-He's a memmer of our speshies…" she murmured through her teeth. "That'd be inhumane."

Thamani let loose of the lion, laying him along the rubble. He lay silent.

The teenager just stared down at him.

"We should tell Mother…" Thamani said. "…Tell her what we found."

"Oh… _no_," Hamu groaned, rolling his eyes. "You know how worked up mother gets with this kinda stuff."

Thamani looked up, and hopped off the rock she stood on, landing on the gorge floor.

"Here," she said, turning the other way down the gorge. "Stay here and watch the guy. I'll go and fetch her."

"_What?_" Hamu burst out. His jaw fell ajar. "Gross! Don't _leave _me here with him!"

Thamani stopped. Then turned back around slyly... lifting a thin brow.

"…Would _you _like to go and fetch mother instead?" she said- smiling mischievously.

Hamu's face dropped.

The thought sank in for him… realizing the risk he would be taking at the possibility of being abducted for bath time.

Hamu smiled cheesily back at his sister.

"Uh… no, I'll be sure keep the guy some company…" he said timidly.

Thamani turned the other way again, running off down the other end of the gorge. As she prodded off, Hamu looked back at the old lion, eyeing him gingerly. The elderly lion simply lay there out in the sun.

Hamu scrunched up his face, appearing deeply disgusted.

The mood had to be lightened. Just so Hamu could contain himself.

"So… uh," Hamu began… easing his face. He cleared out his throat casually.

"…You like… rock-climbing?"


	6. Problem Free Philosophy

_Scar is dead._ Simba thought to himself. He had been repeating that sentence every time his imagination got carried away today ever since the sun came up this morning. He sat on the ledge of Pride Rock, gazing out to the horizon.

It was a sunny day, and everyone who was in the Pride Lands was now out and about, minding their own business. His mate, Nala, was gathering the lionesses together for a morning hunt to hopefully bring home some antelope for the pride. She invited her daughter, Kiara and Vitani to come along, who both happily accepted. This only made Simba even more uneasy.

He wasn't feeling himself today since he had that concerning dream. Something was off.

But he had been having these reoccurring nightmares about the death of his father since it's ever happened. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary to him.

But it sure was the first time _Kiara _was brought into them. Which made him especially worried.

_Scar is dead,_ he told himself again.

To lose Kiara the same way he lost his father…

Simba didn't even have the strength in his heart to think it.

"Simba."

He looked down, seeing Nala standing at the bottom of Pride Rock- with a cheerful Kiara and Vitani behind her.

"We're going on our hunt," Nala told him. "We'll be back soon."

"Wait," Simba then said.

Nala's blue eyes gently widened, watching her mate come down the boulders on Pride Rock. He came over to Nala's side, keeping his eyes on their daughter, concerned.

"Make sure you're careful," Simba told Nala under his breath. But the volume of Simba's voice did not matter, for Kiara knew he was talking about her by the way he was looking at her.

She gave an amused eye roll. "Daddy, please. I'm old enough to handle my own hunts. I thought you trusted me."

"I trust you, Kiara," Simba assured her. "It's what's out _there _that I don't."

Nala, Kiara, and Vitani exchanged glances. Vitani then stepped forward, speaking up.

"Simba… Kiara will be safe," she said. "I will not be collaborating with anyone to start wild fires. And Nala will watch her own daughter's safety. There's no need for concern."

Simba smiled genuinely at her. "I suppose your right."

"We'll only go into familiar areas of the Pride Lands," Nala told Simba. "We won't be long."

"Okay," Simba said. "I hope you all find something."

"Thanks, Dad," Kiara said smiling, and hurriedly turned around as Nala led the way with her daughter and Vitani following her.

Simba watched them head off, keeping his eyes on his daughter. Vitani was right. Kiara would be under her mother's supervision, and Simba surely trusted Vitani by now. She wasn't with the Outlanders anymore. Not to mention she was always prepared to take on anything that came their way. Simba was starting to wonder why he was so worried in the first place.

"-Oh, they grow up so fast!"

Simba looked down at his side, spotting Timon and Pumbaa standing beside him. Pumbaa was sniveling, tears forming in his eyes.

Simba was slightly confused, since he didn't hear them approaching. How long have they been standing there?

"-First she falls in love, then she gets engaged," Timon went on, clasping his paws together with emotion. "Now you're learning to let her go!"

Simba smirked and watched the horizon. Timon then shot a point at him. "Quite a big step for you, Simba."

Simba looked down at him with a smile. "Not so much."

"Euhh, what'dda you mean?" Pumbaa then asked. Simba returned his glace at Timon.

"The parenting tactics you use on _your_ daughter sets a good example," Simba said with a hint of humor.

"What? On Jo?" Timon said. "Huh. Well, I'm glad at least _somebody_ agrees with me!"

Simba looked back towards the grasslands, shaking his head smiling.

"-'Sarcasm's a foreign language to you, isn't it?'" someone said.

Timon, Simba, and Pumbaa turned to see Kheeva leaning against a small boulder with crossed arms, her tuft of butterscotch fur laying over her eye. Timon let out a stressed laugh.

"Ha, hi… sweetheart!" he greeted. "Uh… _my_, you look exceptionally…" Timon wafted his paw around to think of the right word. "…Not-so-mad at me today."

"I'm not," she plainly said.

"It's a good look on you, too!" he added. "Try it on more often!"

She smirked, amused.

"Good morning, Kheeva!" Pumbaa exclaimed.

"Hello, Pumbaa. Simba."

"Hello, Kheeva."

Timon slid down Pumbaa's snout and hopped to the ground. "So, uh, where _is _the offspring this morning?"

"Daddy, I-"

Timon had just about jumped out of his fur when he heard said voice behind him. "WHA…oah, don't… _do_ that!" he said as he hopped around to face his daughter, clasping a paw over his chest. "What's with everyone popping up behind me, huh? Your old man ain't that young anymore!"

Kheeva giggled, and Simba respectfully got up on all fours, preparing to leave them all alone. He jogged back up a few boulders on Pride Rock, untroubled and unconcerned.

Jo shyly straightened out the tuft of fur over her eye like her mother's, only it was brilliant red, like her fathers.

"Eh, sorry, pop," she said.

Pumbaa sat down close by her.

"What brings _you _here, Johari?" Pumbaa asked merrily.

"Well, uh… I was gonna ask you guys sumthin'," Jo said. Timon crossed his arms.

"Shoot, kiddo."

"Okay," she sighed. Jo glanced upward, talking with her paws. "So, Clay asked me and his friends if we all wanted to hang out this morning… you remember Clay, right, Dad?"

"…Ah…"

"-Sure you do." Jo dismissively waved a paw.

"…The _real _skinny meerkat?" Pumbaa inquired, raising a single black hoof.

"Yeah!" Jo exclaimed. She gestured over to him. "See? Uncle Pumbaa remembers him."

"Memory like an elephant's!" Pumbaa stated, tapping a hollow hoof upon his head.

"So," Jo continued. "He was thinking of going to Cobra Cliffs to go fall diving with the guys." She balled up her fists and tossed her head back.

"-And I _really_ wanna go."

"-Diving?" Kheeva then asked, immensely curious. She was still folding her arms against a boulder.

"Yeah, you know," Jo said. "Off the cliff…?"

Kheeva and Timon just kind of looked at her.

Like they were waiting for the punchline.

Jo stared back. She then made some slow breast stroke movements.

"…To _swim?_" she added.

"-Oh, yeah, yeah," Timon then realized, getting it.

"Right," Jo said. Then eyed her mother. "What'd you think I meant?"

Kheeva shook her head, dropping her arms.

"Nothing."

"Well, Clay's leaving now. So can I go?"

The two meerkats promptly answered together:

"-_Of course_."

"-_Certainly not._"

Timon and Kheeva suddenly glanced at each other- perplexed with the other's polar opposite response.

Now sincerely puzzled, Jo's brows knitted together. Pumbaa was just as confused. They briefly looked at each other.

"A little clearer, please?" Jo told her parents, twiddling her paws around.

Timon held his look on Kheeva, almost appalled with her answer. Annoyed, he then whipped his glace back to Pumbaa.

"Uh, Pumbaa, don't you need to, uh, _talk _with Simba?"

Pumbaa's eyelids opened, trying to recall.

"…What?"

"Ya know," Timon urged him, beginning to get irritated. "The _thing_ you wanted to talk about with him?"

"-Euuhh, what thing?"

"-The _**thing!**_"

"Oh! The _**thing!**_" Pumbaa then shouted, catching the drift a bit too late. "Gee…! You're right, Timon…!" he vociferated.

Kheeva rolled her eyes.

Pumbaa spaced his words apart loud and clear. "I guess I should get going, then! See ya later, everybody!"

Pumbaa then made no heisitation to hop up and walk away, trotting hurriedly back up Pride Rock. Once the warthog had left, Timon returned his look at Jo.

"Well, I don't see any problem with it," Timon told her.

"-_I_ do," Kheeva objected next to him.

"But…" Jo began, eyes fixed on her. "_Mom_…"

"What's this place called again?" Kheeva questioned.

Jo lowered her head meekly. "Cobra Cliffs?"

Kheeva only raised a brow suspiciously. Timon made no facial expression.

Jo impatiently groaned up towards the sky. "I'm not the one who came up with the name! Some guy just thought it sounded cool! I _swear_, it's not what you think."

"You're going to be with _boy_ meerkats?" Kheeva said.

"Yeah, so?"

"-Look, kiddo," Timon began, elevating his paws at his daughter. "If you say this place is alright- then it's alright, alright?"

Jo happily stuttered and grinned- gratefully reaching out her paw out to Timon for his defense. "Thank you, dad!"

"-Now go out there have some fun!"

"-Thank you, daddy!"

"-_Timon!_"

But before Kheeva could protest any further, Jo scattered off, happy as a clam in the other direction. Timon was satisfied with the sight, but Kheeva only glared at him. He turned and noticed this. His smile vanished off his face and was replaced with an anxious one.

"What?"

"You've gotta start putting your foot down," Kheeva told him.

"She'll be _fine_," Timon assured, wafting a paw after Jo. "She'll get some… uh… _fresh air_."

"We can't just let our daughter go off and do whatever she wants. She's too young be unsupervised."

Timon shrugged. "She just wants to have a little bit of _fun_."

"We don't even know when she's going to be back…"

Timon inhaled, ready to say something, but he never seemed to think about that. Pushing the matter aside, he waved it off dismissively.

"Well, the kid's gotta come back to eat _sometime_…"

"-Did she _tell you_ how high these cliffs were?"

"Well, no…"

"-Are the waters infested with carnivores?"

"Stop _worrying_," Timon then stated firmly. He was getting aggravated. "You _know _I hate it when you worry... Besides… I used to do stuff like that _all_ the time with Simba and Pumbaa in the _hakuna matata_ days!"

Kheeva stared.

"Timon…" she started gently. "…_Hakuna matata_ doesn't work on everything. Especially parenting."

"-Says who?"

A bright, sarcastic smile flashed across Kheeva's face.

"_Well…!_" she piped out and then held onto her elbow… although deep in thought. "Did it truthfully help your friend, Simba with _his_ personal problems?"

Timon looked flabbergasted.

"T-that was completely different!"

"No, not really."

"_I_…_!_" Timon shouted rawly, raising a finger. "…Am a good parent!"

Kheeva inhaled through her small, black nostrils and thought. She tapped her chin.

"…So if all the cool kids thought it would be a bright idea to jump off a bridge, would you let Jo do it?"

"Of _course_ not!" Timon suddenly defended. He waved it off dismissively. "-I'd make _sure _she'd have a helmet!"

Kheeva growled angrily and let her arms fall, tossing her head back to glare up at the blue sky. Timon jumped, confused.

"_What?_" he asked with a shrug.

Kheeva walked off.


	7. Starting Over

Two lionesses lazily lay out in the sun on a few slabs of rock and absorbed the heat. They were idly chatting with one another on the outskirts of the Outlands.

Two jackals turned away from the lionesses inside a thicket of tall grass… and faced each other.

"Alright," Mauti murmured. "Now, you remember what you are to do?"

Faraa inhaled, quoting her sister. "'Stay quiet… and don't open my pie hole.'"

"Good," Mauti said. "Wait for my signal… sit by my side… and just look pretty."

"Right," Faraa said.

"Now if you somehow manage to mess _this_ one up," Mauti snapped. "I'm not bluffing this time… I will get you in your sleep, and I'll make it look like an_ accident_."

As the two lionesses talked with each other, they heard a rustle of grass blades from off to the side. They turned their heads in the direction of the noise, and Mauti walked out from within them, whistling carelessly.

"_Zip-i-dee do da… zip-i-dee*_… oh," Mauti then looked although she had just noticed the two lionesses.

"Well, hello, ladies," she said. "What would you two be doing here lying around on such a beautiful morning?"

The two lionesses glanced at each other, exchanging looks. One of them looked back at Mauti.

"What's it to you?" one of them asked.

"We just came back from our morning hunt," the other lioness explained. "Now it's time for us to take a break. Who are you?"

"Oh," Mauti rolled her eyes. "I'm so rude. My apologies. My name is Mauti… and you are…?"

"I'm Aina…" she darkly said. Then nodded at her friend on her left, who simply lifted a black brow suspiciously. She had darker fur than Aina. "…And this is Siri."

"Pleasure to meet you," Mauti said. "I have a business proposition for the both of you."

"A proposition?" Siri asked. "What about?"

"Hunting," Mauti told her. "Isn't it a hassle? It's so _laborious!_" she theatrically exaggerated the word. Mauti then sighed dreamily.

"…Wouldn't it be _great _if you didn't have to do that?"

"Perhaps," Aina replied.

"It feeds our pride," Siri said. "I don't mind a full, rewarding day of hard work..."

Mauti then clenched her teeth. She really hoped they'd both agree. Mauti darted her eyes around, quickly trying to think of something else to say.

"-_Why_ is this a jackals' concern anyway?" Aina asked her bitterly. "Why are you talking to us?"

"Well…" Mauti started. "I have a way… to feed your pride without all the sweat and work to do it."

Mauti then nonchalantly held her paw before her nose… peering down at her claws.

"But only if you're willing to exert sweat and work into a different manner."

Both lionesses curiously looked at each other. Mauti pretended not to notice. She put on no expression, as if she found her claws all too fascinating.

The lionesses turned their glances to Mauti once more.

"What do you mean, 'into a different manner?'" Aina asked.

Mauti glanced up, her ears perking up.

"Hm? Oh. Well, we've engaged in a fight for our commander. You see, my younger sister and I…"

Mauti trailed off, although waiting for something to happen. Aina and Siri leaned in, waiting for her to continue.

Irritated, Mauti turned her head back at the grass blades behind her.

"…My younger _sister and I_…" she said, much louder.

The grass behind Mauti shifted.

Faraa came out, smiling friendly at the two lioness. She then sat down at Mauti's right side.

Mauti composed herself and continued.

"…Have agreed to help our commander for a reward." Mauti continued. "She promised whoever joins her side, to supply them with a feast fit enough for a king."

"She really said this?" Siri asked.

"Affirmative. However… our commander needs a large assembly of lionesses, and you two seem fit enough for the job. She'll reward you with said meal."

Aina and Siri took a moment to exchange glances, then look at Mauti again.

"Well…" Aina said. "…I don't know if-"

"-Might I point out that this is a once in a lifetime offer?" Mauti interrupted. "You won't have to hunt for your pride… and you'll be provided with plenty of food for your loyalty with our commander."

"Who is…?" Siri began to ask.

Mauti waved a paw dismissively.

"…Does it really matter who it is?"

"…I would like to know a little bit more about who sent you two before we make any rash decisions," Siri explained.

"-She is _not_ insanely driven with vengeance, if that's what you're thinking!" Faraa speedily defended.

Mauti angrily shot her sister a glare. Faraa anxiously smiled back at her.

Aina and Siri sighed, watching the ground from on top of their slabs of rock. Aina looked at Siri, nodding.

Siri glanced at Mauti.

"I suppose we could work something out," she told her. "One of my legs has recently been collapsing when we hunt for food, anyway."

Mauti's face lit up. "A wise decision you have made, ladies. Thank you for your time."

* * *

They were just swirls of noise. But after several minutes, they began to form into one word at a time.

"…_Gorge… lots of blood… rocks… Hamu…_"

Shapes and colors were forming before Scar's eyes. Along with the faint twitter of wild birds.

The quiet world around Scar was slanted... off on an axis. He came to realize he was lying beside the shade of a shrub… like a hibiscus plant. The warm ground was a dry, crackling soil, and thin rays of light stretched across his ribcage through a couple of tropical treetops... somewhere on the outskirts of the desert.

Scar's body remained still while his eyes slunk around… probing the area. He cautiously made an effort to raise his head. But only just lifting it an inch or so suddenly caused horrific throbbing to wash through it.

"-Agh!"

Scar clenched his jaw and tightly shut his eyes. The colors before him split his mind open with cutting pain. Scar now regretted even moving at all. The insides of his eyelids flashed a brilliant succession of lights. Scar moaned and threw his head over his side, only having it roll to the other side again.

Someone then took note of him stirring.

"Hey, guys! He's waking up!" a female voice said. There was a parade of pattering on the ground. Several, blurry shades of gold-brown slowly came up to him.

"-Good gracious…! The poor lion…"

"-Just _what _did you whippersnappers _do _to him?"

"-Nuthin', Grampa…!"

"-Hogwash…! Can't you see he's o_bviously_ hurt?"

"-Is that white stuff his _skull?_"

"-Sweet."

Scar was clamping his eyes shut so hard… just to keep the light out. His eyelids dampened as he did just so. He could hear his own breathing in his ears. A lake of vivid hues swam painfully across the blackness of his eyelids.

It passed over.

Scar strained to gently open his eyes... and keep them open. He was glancing straight up. His line of view included a clean, gem-cut turquoise sky… surrounded by bases of palm trees… and bright, hot sunlight shining down upon him.

The light suddenly dimmed slightly.

Scar rolled onto his shoulder… onto to his back to observe what happened. A figure of an old lioness stepped into Scar's line of view… standing over him… inspecting him. Her fur was radiating with gold… emitting an aura from the sun.

Scar exhaled. The lionesses' eyes were both as green as the life held inside lily pads. They gleamed back in warm concern.

"…Sir, are you alright?" she said, low and rosy.

Scar couldn't answer. He almost didn't hear her through the loud throbbing in his ears. He couldn't communicate, and all he could do was stare.

The golden lioness patiently waited on an answer. Scar's head was heavy, and all he could do was heave a groan and let his head drop to the ground.

But a paw quickly slid underneath his mane to catch his head, and then nicely lifted it back up into a cradle.

The situation was confusing. But Scar was too tired to look around and study what was happening. He just let the lioness above him touch him. She brought her other paw underneath his chin… and gently turned his head towards her. Their eyes met- and Scar could gaze up to her from below on the ground.

She smiled.

Scar opened his eyes a little, making an effort to watch her.

Another blur came up to them. It was a short, gold ball. It eyed Scar with a disgusted expression, raising it's upper lip. It was a boy lion cub.

"-That _is_ his skull!" the figure declared, scrambling backwards in horror.

His words were like a sharp stab to Scar's ears, and he tensed in pain. A flash of red fled like lightning across the inside of his eyelids.

He was breathing in stiff, rigid pants. But it all went away when something nice came to his face and stroked it. Scar's expression eased up… along with his breathing.

"Hush Hamu," the old lioness above him then whispered.

But the boy cub fell onto his bottom as he scampered backwards. He just held onto his stomach. A simple, round lump.

"I'm gonna…" the little lion began. "I have to…"

The cub then got up on all fours and scampered to a secluded corner nearby.

A straining hurl could be heard moments later.

The younger, teenage lioness shook her head, sighing to the sky.

"…You are such a chicken."

The fat boy cub sniffled and turned his head, wiping the back of his paw across his wet mouth.

"…What's a chicken?" he glumly asked.

"-It's what _you _are," she replied smartly.

"-Now, now, there's no need for that, Thamani," an old voice spoke up. He was mumbling his words through his white-maned mustache. "Let's all put on a spiffy good example for the nice lion, shall we now?"

These words were barley passing clearly through Scar's ears. Everything might as well be underwater. Scar glanced up.

The owners of the four voices around him were clearly coming into focus. There was the fat boy cub, of course. His front and back paws looked rather pudgy. Big and padded. His wide, baby blue eyes were gleaming with curiosity.

Then there was the elderly male lion sitting a few feet away from Scar. All of his fur was gray. But his mane was long and stringy, and flowed to the ground like a scraggily beard and mustache. It was a fading, white color that dangled like a limp rope underneath his chin. He looked around at uninteresting objects.

There was also a young lioness sitting next to the old lion. She sat quite casually and tilted her head at Scar, inspecting his head. Her fur was a flourishing yellow. She no doubt had to be an adolescent.

And then there was the older lioness, blazing in all gold, who was still propping up Scar's head with her paw in a gentle hold.

She hopefully gazed down at him.

"…Who are you, sir?" she asked.

Scar still looked up at her. Unable to take his eyes away because there wasn't much else he could look. Scar's green irises slunk about… and he had to really, sincerely think about that question. Scar's eyes stayed to one side.

Odd.

It shouldn't have taken him so long to give her such a simple answer. He almost had to ask him that question himself. Wait… just who _was_ he again?

He was frankly a little high-strung and uneasy. These were strangers… and Scar had no idea who these people were.

Apparently the old senior lion sensed this. He was struck with enough pity to sympathetically open his mouth.

"…There there, now, it's alright, sir," he said. Scar moved his glance over to him. The silver-haired lion gave him a nice smile.

"We won't hurt you…" he said. His puffy white mustache bounced up and down as he spoke.

Scar let his eyelids fall closed. He calmed down just a teensy bit… and found enough air in his lungs to talk.

"Madam, I…" he began to rasp. The lioness sitting over him watched him make an effort. She then moved a black strand of mane out of Scar's eyes to encourage him to speak.

"…I don't… what happened?" Scar finished.

The boy cub then turned his head at Scar's words.

"Hey… he talks funny!" he said. The boy then trotted towards him in newfound interest, quick to forget all about his vomit heap.

The tubby cub stood at Scar's side.

"Say more words…!" he urged.

"Why Hamu," the aging lioness said to him. "That's not polite. "Now apologize please." Her voice was full of grace and poise.

The cub shrank in shamefully.

"…Sorry, mom."

"…Apologize to the lion, not to me."

"…Sorry, sir."

"It's an accent, you ding-dong," the young lioness spoke up from behind. "Probably English."

The old lioness gave a single stare at the teenager. Then, almost pushing aside the matter, she gazed back down to Scar.

"…My name is Subira," she explained. Then raised her head to nod at the other members of her family.

"…And this is my father… and my children, Hamu and Thamani."

"…Pleasure to meet you, sir," Thamani- the young lioness said. She was walking closer towards him.

"We found that you were caught in a rockslide down in the gorge a few miles away," she went on.

Scar's eyes were shut, weakly lying there as this lioness's paw was running through his fur. His whole body hurt. He had no prior knowledge of this.

"…Rockslide," Scar muttered listlessly.

Thamani nodded. "Yeah."

"-I found you!" Hamu exclaimed, smug and proud… then slowly glanced disapprovingly to his sister.

"…But _Thamani_ thought you were totally gross."

The teenager, Thamani, said not a word at this comment.

Subira gently returned a look to Scar. "Sir, just what were you doing down in that gorge?" she asked.

Scar lifted his eyes upward again. The lioness simply waited for reply… but it wasn't coming. Scar was lost to provide a satisfying answer for her.

He was in a gorge? What gorge? When? Why?

Scar's glance fell down… went back up.

"I…" Scar tried to say. It was useless. Scar's eyes never left Subira's… and he slowly shook his head in her paw.

"I… can't remember," he confessed.

Subira blinked… and sort of stared at him. Thamani then spoke up behind her.

"…Where's your family, sir?" she said. "We should contact them and let them know you're alright right away."

Scar went silent once again.

"My family…"

Scar searched his mind for any idea if he had any… he assumed by the fact that nothing came to mind- no such thing existed.

Scar closed his eyes.

"I, uh…"

He shut his eyes firmly. Scar slowly shook his head as it rested in Subira's paw… trying to recall.

Subira observed this struggle in trying to remember. Her eyes were still projected mercifully down upon Scar. She saw how hard it was for him to give them all this personal information. The old lioness then took a second look at the injury upon Scar's head to piece together cluse. Ribbons of crisp blood had rolled sideways down Scar's forehead, down to his nose.

This gentleman looked so… oblivious to who he was.

Subira's inspecting eyes then loosened… showing a sudden mixture of shock and pity… realizing the problem.

He was found by the _rockslide_.

_Now_ this made sense.

Subira just stared down at Scar… now with a tinge of dread in her expression. She then brought forth her paw to Scar's face and she wiped clean a streak of blood gathering at his eyebrow.

All of the sudden, Subira raised up her eyes, and then turned around to her son.

"Hamu," she said. "I want you to run off and find any spare food we may have. Anything we have will do."

Hamu suddenly widened his bright blue eyes. A smile flashed on his face.

"Yeah…!" he said eagerly. And the little cub spun around and pranced off into a small thicket, happy to obey.

Once he was gone, Subira then turned to her daughter standing nearby.

"Thamani, would you mind staying and keeping this lion company while we clean him up?"

For the first time in seven whole minutes… Scar's eyes finally snapped all the way open.

Wait- _what _were they going to do?

Scar still had no comprehension of what was going on. He had no idea who these individuals were… where they came from… or what their relations with him were.

Thamani sat… blinking about a little.

"Er… no, I wouldn't mind," she said and shrugged.

Scar… ever so slightly… lifted his head off the ground and tilted his head in vague interest. Subira gave her daughter a pleased smile.

"All right, then," she said.

Thamani moved her mouth meekly to smile. Then made her way over to her mother.

Subira and the grandfather lion then turned around to face Scar. The aging lioness reclined on the ground next to him.

Scar finally propped his shoulder into the dirt to hold himself up. The idea of a clean up was not comforting. His head hurt bad enough, and he wouldn't appreciate it if anyone made it ten times worse…

"Very good, sir…" Subira began. "Now first thing is first, we ought to clean all the blood from your injury… and prevent an infection."

This is exactly what he had feared.

Suddenly, Scar jerked up… slithering away from the lions.

Subira blinked.

Scar stared back apprehensively, a frantic mess. He held up a paw on defense.

"…Don't… touch it," Scar firmly ordered. This did not make the grandfather lion happy. He tilted his head back and sighed at his stubbornness.

"Oh boy," the lion muttered. "We're going to be here awhile."

Subira carefully made her way forward towards Scar.

"-I'm not going to touch it," she explained. "I'm just going to-"

Scar took off backwards.

"-NO, just… stay away!" he protested… jerkily backing off. "Please! It's _already_-"

Subira shook her head.

"Sir, sir, _sir_," she cut in.

Scar immediately yielded his talking… and quickly glanced back and forth at the lions around him.

Thamani and grandfather lion exchanged glances. Subira gently bowed her head came forward.

"...I wouldn't try to hurt you," she said.

There was nothing much else he could do. Scar continued to breathe, watching each lion tentatively… wary of every move they were making. They seemed like they wanted to help him, not hurt him.

Subira came a little closer- testing his comfort zone a little further. This time, Scar sat there… however kept the cautious expression. He had no other option. He let Subira's eyes wander up over his head to examine the damage upon it.

When she saw how serious it was, the lioness's green eyes gradually wilted. But she remained somewhat optimistic and looked at Scar, encouraging him with a warm smile.

"Why I'll make sure you never even feel a thing," she reassured him.

* * *

_*_Reference to Disney's, "_Song of the South." No copyright infringement intended._


	8. I Told You So

Despite it's sketchy name, many animals used Cobra Cliffs to be an environment for drinking water. It was made up of several chain waterfalls, dropping a few hundred feet, where water gathered into the pool below. It was noted for being a visual treat above anything else. Long garlands of vine draped the rocky walls, with bits of white lily and other extravagant tropical flowers popping up. The water gushing down created a hazy mist... and usually a hidden rainbow streak. At the bottom, zebras and elephants stood in the pool, lazily roaming in the water, refreshing themselves. Flamingoes and other birds waded the area. At the top of one of the waterfalls, four meerkats wriggled their way up to the peak.

"…Whoa! Gnarly view, dudes!" one meerkat exclaimed. "I can, like, see my colony's burrow from here!"

Jo cautiously made her way up a few rocks. She vaguely remembered this guy's name as Brad. Clay had invited him and Bud- another one of his pals- on their cliff-diving shindig.

The dynamic duo… they never left each other.

Jo exhaled in relief, brushing herself off. Bud was the last of the group to come up. The wind breezed through his unkempt hair hanging over his eyes. Bud took his final climbs up to the top, making his way over to Brad's side.

Brad then turned around to face his friends.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. "My colony will be the first to hear about how I made it out alive off Cobra Cliffs!"

Bud's eyes grew huge.

"Dude… _sweet!_" he tittered beside him.

"Dude… I KNOW!"

"-Can you two, like, _not_ use the word 'dude' for the next two minutes?" Jo then piped up from behind them and displayed two fingers.

The two meerkats then went silent and stared coldly at Jo. The only noise at the moment was the waterfall rushing over the ledge.

Jo shrunk inside a little. She lowered her fingers.

"…Just a _suggestion_…" she smiled meekly.

Bud and Brad then raised their chins high, then turned back towards the roaring waterfall.

Just then, a rustling sound emitted from the bushes behind Jo. She turned to investigate over her shoulder.

Nothing was there.

She turned back around and thought nothing of it.

Brad looked out to the horizon before them.

"Whoa!" Brad exclaimed, looking down. "There's, like… sharp rocks at the bottom!"

Bud and Brad stared downward... and their faces lit up simultaneously.

"…_Awesome!_" they both chorused.

Jo looked to the sky and shook her head hopelessly as the two meerkats rooted and hollered together.

Clay examined this. He then spoke up beside her.

"…Are your parents actually cool with this?" he said.

Jo turned to him. Her green eyes sort of went downward.

"Oh… yeah…" she said. "They're cool with it."

Clay knitted a brow. Then shrugged it off.

"Okay."

Jo tried giving him a smile of reassurance, then turned back to the two meerkats Brad and Bud. They were just too enthralled in how high up they were all dangerously perched.

"Dude…" Bud hung his head far over the waterfall landing. He swung his bangs to the side. "Why do you think the rocks are there?"

Brad then spun around happily.

"-Maybe someone put them there to break our fall!"

Bud's face lit up.

"-Like a safety device? !"

Both of Jo's eyebrows rocketed upward… gaping at them in awe. Bud then peered over the ledge of the waterfall, beaming eagerly.

"That is so thoughtful!" he said.

Brad then threw his arms up.

"DUDE! I LOVE THIS PLACE!"

At this point, Jo couldn't resist changing her gawk from the two meerkats, to Clay standing next to her. His arms were folded… and he stood nonchalantly. He returned her glance.

"…Welcome to Clay's world," he told her with a big smile.

Jo slowly shook her head at Clay… smiling uselessly.

"…You're friends with idiots," she told him.

Clay just stared ahead… and shrugged with his arms folded.

"…Yeah. What are you gonna do…?"

At this, Jo flashed a secret grin. At the edge of the waterfall, Bud and Brad stirred up conversation again.

"Dude…" Brad started. "I call dibs on jumping off first!"

Bud sighed… then made his way over to Brad's side, and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. Bud bowed his head like a friend giving a solemn speech.

"…Bro… if anything happens…" he said. "…If you _don't_ come out alive after this… I just want you to know… I am a friend… that thinks it's funny when friends get hurt."

Almost right after Bud had said this, Jo indistinctively heard a noise from the side.

She and everyone turned. It wasn't the bushes again… it was a second group of meerkats coming up onto the cliff they were all standing on. There were about five of them. And all appeared to be a little darker and grayer in color.

The apparent leader of the group stood directly in front of the waterfall precipice like he was about to jump.

He then looked like he had _just_ noticed Jo and Clay's gang.

"Oh," the meerkat said. He straightened himself out, eyeing their group. "Were you guys about to use this spot?"

Jo and Clay briefly exchanged glances. The lead meerkat looked curious.

Clay returned his glance back to him.

"Yeah…" he answered simply.

The lead meerkat then dropped his eyes down and tapped his chin. He looked back at them to speak.

"Well… um… we're using this spot now. So, um… you can go home now."

Jo's face contorted into bitter confusion. The lead meerkat then positioned himself again to dive off the rushing waterfall.

"Hey, man!" Brad then said, water sloshing as he took a few steps over to him. The lead meerkat froze and glanced over.

"That's totally bogus," Brad said. "We were here first."

"…And now you're going _home_," the meerkat stressed to them. He stood up straighter and gave them a feigned, happy wave.

"So _ta-ta!_"

Jo blinked. Her paw went to her chest.

"-Excuse me…?" she inquired.

A meerkat head then poked up from the group.

"…You're excused…!" he piped out… waving good-bye. A few surrounding friends of his giggled.

Jo dropped her paw. Clearly… these guys' parents hadn't taught them better.

She took and step forward and shrugged.

"…Why can't we just share this spot?" she suggested to the opposing group.

The lead meerkat now looked like he was getting annoyed. He gave up on his diving pose and turned to face Jo.

"…Because then it'd be too crowded," he snapped curtly. "…And we don't have any more room for any more losers on this cliff. _So leave_."

Jo moved her mouth. This wasn't going anywhere. She glanced over her shoulder at Bud and Brad… who both shrugged indifferently.

Maybe they should just go home.

But at that moment, Clay had already taken a few paces forward.

"…You know…" he began loudly, wading through water. The opposing group of meerkats turned their heads… with some attention.

"…I wouldn't be hating on her…" he told them. "She's with us…"

The lead meerkat stared, uninterested.

"So?" he said absentmindedly.

Clay continued… timidly glancing over to Jo… who just watched him.

"…_So_… her old man's best pals with the king. That lion can hunt you down and give you what's coming to you…"

The lead meerkat threw his head back.

"Oh, _now_ I'm scared," he said. "Help, help, the big bad kitty's coming to get me."

A few more members of his meerkat alliance gave way to snickers and giggling.

"No, I'm serious, dude…" Clay pressed on. He thumbed at Jo behind him. "…Her dad even raised the king since he was a cub…!"

And then… a single meerkat from the opposing group tilted her head in Jo's direction, and threw on a fake sympathetic voice.

"…_Aawwwww!_" she said. The surrounding meerkats then let loose unconfined laughter.

Jo visibly shrunk in a little… wringing her wrist. Clay's face dropped a little… only then realizing the mistake he had just made in even mentioning something that personal.

Jo pulled in her lips and secretly turned her back on them towards Clay.

"Clay…" she said. "What're you doing, bringing my dad into this…?"

Clay looked like he didn't know what to say at the moment. He just stood there and shrugged… hoping it would've helped.

"-I think it's adorable!" a meerkat called out.

This wasn't worth it. Jo rolled her green eyes.

"Er… come on." She turned to Bud and Brad. "Let's just _go_…" she said to him.

"-That's right!" a female meerkat called out. "…Daddy's wittle girl says it's time to go home!"

Some more laughter from the meerkats.

"Yo, stop hatin' on Jo, bro," Bud told him, pointing a finger at him.

"'_Jo…?_'" the lead meerkat repeated. "Are you kidding me? …Jo's a boy's name!"

His horde of meerkat buddies wouldn't stop giggling. It was getting harder for Jo to just stay confined in this one spot. Jo really just wanted to go home.

The lead meerkat composed himself and crossed his arms. "But…" he began. "…You're parents know you better than I do."

"_Oohhhh!_" the group beside him chorused, which was followed by a fit of guffawing.

A flicker of anger then suddenly sparked Jo to speak up. She opened her mouth and leaned in.

"…And obviously _yours_ didn't teach you how to treat others…" she snapped back.

The lead meerkat whirled his head in Jo's direction, quite angrily.

"…Your parents can shove it!"

Jo blinked.

"Look, dude! What's your problem?" Brad suddenly intervened. "All we wanted to do today was just jump off a few cliffs. Why do you have to be a jerk about it?"

The group behind the lead meerkat then got quiet… waiting for their leader to say something. He then softened his face, and placed a paw over his heart in mock affection.

"Oh, I _am_ sorry…" he said. "…You said you guys wanted to jump off a few cliffs?"

"-Yeah, man!"

"-_Ohhh…_ okay, then…"

The meerkat then turned silently towards Clay… and gave him a single, hard shove backwards to the edge of the some, one-hundred foot waterfall they were all standing on.

Jo gasped with horror with Bud and Brad.

"HEY!" she yelped. She leapt at the meerkat.

The group behind the lead meerkat then jabbed their fists into the air and yelled. As Clay flung backwards, Jo grabbed his forearm and yanked him away from the perch. As she pulled him away, Clay flew forwards and landed on his stomach in the small stream. Jo went with him.

All of the sudden, everyone heard a loud crowd screaming below the waterfall for some reason.

There was a loud, carnivorous snarl. A flash of glimmering black shot across Jo's peripheral vision. Then all of the opposing meerkats started screaming.

Jo managed to get a glimpse of the lead meerkat's face lying in the stream… which was a gaping mix of terror and dread.

He was gawking over Jo's shoulder.

Then every single one of his buddies- male and female- shrieked and bolted the other way, hurdling over rocks, and retreating back down the cliff from whence they came.

"_AAGUGHHH!_ MOMMY!" a voice wailed out.

Jo smirked.

"Yeah, you _better run!_" she called back to them.

Bud and Brad were also yelling.

"-JO…!" Clay practically screamed out. "LOOK OUT!"

A savage roar ripped through the air, and Jo spun her body around to look. And then… a black, four-legged creature pounced right at the girl meerkat.

Out of instinct, she instantly got up and sprang out of the way just in time, unclear about what it was. The creature snarled and spat wildly, splattering water everywhere in it's path. It turned around on it's paws to once again face Jo.

Jo stood up and finally saw the animal. She froze entirely.

A black panther. A black panther was eyeing her and her friend hungrily, stalking low to the ground, preparing to make it's next move.

The animal maliciously crept closer… back hunched, and glowing eyes focused on the meerkats. It's lean muscles gleamed through it's black, silky pelt.

It had no pupils.

The panther then sprang forward again like elastic, claws extracted in front of itself. The four adolescents yelped and scrambled out of the way. The panther charged right past them all and was headed for Clay... its random target.

He was making a run for it, but tripped over a small rock in the river that sent him face first into the water. He gasped and spun his body around.

The panther was making a ferocious run towards him, and Clay cried out and shielded himself with his elbow.

All the sudden, a large rock then sailed through the air and smacked the wild cat in the face.

"HEY STUPID CAT!"

The panther shook it off angrily, and shot its eyes over to the thrower.

Jo stood there in the water, now a little unsure about what to do. She backed up, watching the large carnivore. The panther watched her… and bared its teeth into a fierce smirk.

Now she was in trouble.

Out of ideas, Jo then flailed her arms and ran off in the opposite direction. The panther took off behind her and snarled barbarically.

Clay sat up in horror, watching his friend run down the ledge of the cliff in a panic.

Brad and Bud watched nearby.

"RUN, DUDETTE!" Brad screamed after her. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Jo was hurdling over several boulders in order to climb down off the cliff. But the wild panther managed to jump onto a large rock behind her, prepared for an aerial pounce. Now it was mad.

The large crowd below Cobra Cliffs ran in a panic- elephants trumpeted, Thomson's gazelles went ballistic, and flustered birds flapped each and every direction… one blue one in particular flew frantically out of the premises, and straight for the Pride Lands.

But Jo had unfortunately reached the end of the cliff upon the rushing waterfall, and she skidded to a halt, waving her arms around to regain balance. The gleaming surface of a pool of water stared back at her… a good hundred feet below.

Jo quickly glanced around… for anything else to make a jump for.

There _were _a few lower stacks of rock scattered nearby the waterfall… all of them steadily descending like stepping stones.

She heard a loud shrieking snarl, and Jo whirled around to look. The panther had already leapt off its rock- flying right for her.

Jo immediately took a running jump off her cliff- and landed hard onto a rock platform nearby. The panther almost went flying sideways off the cliff at missing its target, and it scrambled its claws around in midair for something, _anything _to grab onto.

Its paws caught onto the steep end of the ledge- and its claws screeched along the rock wall in an attempt to stop falling.

Jo huffed, and began to stand up carefully on her platform, turning around in the process to keep an eye on the cat. Water from the gushing waterfall sprayed up into a hissing mist, turning the surrounding area a white haze.

The panther did not look happy. It was struggling to climb back up the rocky ledge, growling and snorting all the while. It was prepping itself up to pounce for Jo once more.

Jo had to think quickly again… if she ever got out of this alive, she was _never _going fall-diving again. She spotted another nearby rock platform through the misty fog.

It was a risky jump… but at this point, anything went.

Jo gathered all the strength she had and ran straight off her claimed rock tower, onto the next platform with a _smack!_

Rock-hopping. It was working, at least…

The panther was quickly catching on, and made a giant leap for Jo's previous rock tower as well, but barely made it across and clumsily landed on its stomach on the platform, scratching and clawing at loose rock, which went tumbling down into the water pool below.

Jo jumped again, to a mossy log wedged in between two cliffs nearby. But she realized to her misfortune, there was nothing else in her proximity to leap onto to stall time. And she was trapped.

Jo turned around. The panther obviously realized this, and was grinning a Cheshire cat grin. A low, soft growl rumbled from within its throat… eyeing Jo ravenously. It then sprang onto the second rock tower Jo was previously on. This was not good.

The big cat was only one jump away from getting onto the decaying log Jo was balancing on. Jo backed away slowly, taking one step at a time along the log.

She then glanced down.

The pool of water below glittered like diamonds in the high sun. It sure looked inviting compared to the razor-sharp teeth of a fully-grown black panther.

Only a _maniac _would do what she was thinking about doing…

Another growl shook Jo out of her thoughts. She snapped her head back up. The panther was crouching low on the rock platform… kneading the surface, about to pounce at her.

Unknowingly, Brad, Bud, and Clay were all tensely watching the scene from above atop the waterfall.

Jo shot her wide eyes down below.

All those sharp rocks mentioned before at the bottom…

She then looked back up again at the panther.

This is what they came here for…

The ferocious feline then flashed its fangs and roared- spit flying everywhere- and sprang off the rock stack, and extracted its claws for meerkat flesh.

Jo dove off the log. And she disappeared into the mist.

There was a tremendous crackling sound, and the black panther had managed to snap the entire molding log in half, suddenly sending itself-and the broken log- plummeting down, down into the crystal blue pool one-hundred feet below.

Jo hit the water in the pool like a rock, and was briefly sent underwater. She found the surface and the meerkat child gasped for air. There were a few last-second screams at the edge of the pool, and giraffes and cape buffalo bolted the other way, just in time to avoid the huge log- and savage panther- plunging down into the water.

Jo yelped and shot underneath the water again to avoid getting hit.

_SPLASH!_

A huge tidal wave then came over the pool, water sloshing towards land and overflowing the bank. Large ripples crashed to land, until the entire pool gently calmed down into a still nothing.

Wading through the pool, Jo panted hard, her whole body dripping wet. She trudged onward, turning back to investigate behind her.

The two pieces of mossy log then bobbed up to the surface… with no panther in sight.

There suddenly came a pitter-pattering of paws nearby. Jo turned.

"JO! JOHARI!"

Clay, Bud, and Brad all came rushing towards her, leaping and sliding down a few final rocks on the cliff before making it safely to the ground.

Jo then sighed to herself… inwardly grimacing. She stood there in the pool, sopping wet and simply waited until all three boys made it over to her. They were all smiling and waving their arms around.

"-Jo, Jo! That was incredible!"

"-You totally rock, man!"

"-What a jump!"

All three boys then pranced into the pool, kicking up water and practically swarmed her. Brad, then ran over to Jo and faced her. He fell to his knees before her with a _sploosh_… grabbing her wrist in the process.

Jo yelped and bent forward.

"…You just totally earned my _eternal respect_, dude!" Brad declared.

Jo scoffed, and angrily swiped her hand back. Brad frowned.

Then… a bubbling sound came about from behind the teenagers.

All the meerkats turned around.

A ferocious black face then surfaced the water, giving out a ruthless snarl. All four meerkats then knitted their brows together in horror- and screamed in unison.

The panther's lean, black coat was soaked, and it gleamed in the sun. It charged right for the four adolescents without thinking.

Now it was _wet_, angry panther.

It pounced.

Brad and Bud threw their arms around each other, but before anything else horrifying could happen- another fierce roar shred through the air.

Everyone gawked up.

A large, red-brown blur leapt right over everyone's heads. It tackled the black wild cat with bared teeth- colliding straight into it. The panther screeched as it was sent backwards, splashing back into the pool, and nailed to the pool floor with a _BOOM_. White water flew upward, soaking both wild animals.

Clay, Jo, Bud and Brad watched curiously. A young lion struggled to keep the panther underwater… but it was squirming and wiggling fiercely under his hold.

A lion… with a black mane… and scar over his left eye.

Kovu.

Jo's mouth dropped a little.

Uh-oh. Somebody saw what happened… and had informed the Pride Lands.

The savage panther then batted at Kovu's face, and he stepped off the cat, yelling in pain. The panther surfaced and shrieked back at Kovu… only to instantly turn around and prod away from the area… obviously having enough for one day.

Kovu grunted and staggered forward, shaking off the blow. He watched the panther's tail flick into a bunch of hibiscus shrubs… and disappear like it was never even here.

Kovu exhaled… clearly exhausted.

The group of meerkats were left speechless. They watched the bushes where the beastly cat had just left them… and then gawked up at the lion who had just saved them all.

Kovu was beginning to breathe a little easier, and he just stood there with his legs apart, and firmly planted in the pool of water… glaring straight ahead. His mane was drizzling with water.

He then noticed it had just gotten very quiet. Kovu paused his breathing. Then looked over to all four meerkats down by his side.

They all just stared. Kovu stared back.

And then he shot up an irritated a brow… like he was waiting for them to say something.

A distant rumble of thunder came through the clouds. Clay, Bud and Brad all then simultaneously widened their eyes... suddenly getting an idea.

"Oh, gee, would you look at the time?" Clay then shouted out, pretending to look at some invisible watch on his wrist. "I should, uh… get going now!"

The meerkat then whirled around and began to take off in the other direction… presumably home. Bud and Brad quickly followed behind him.

"-Yeah, uh…" Bud started. "…My mom's probably super worried about me!"

"-And I have to feed my pet weasels!" Brad shot back, running after Clay and Bud. They all scampered out of the vicinity… leaving Jo and Kovu all by themselves.

The sun had gone someplace. It wasn't as bright as it had been this afternoon.

Jo glanced up at the sky… all out of ideas.

She then tried on a cheesy smile and glanced up at Kovu.

"Well, it's been an exciting day, Kovu, but Brad might need my help in holding down those weasels, SO BYE!"

"-Hold it."

Just as Jo was about to turn the other way, Kovu gently laid his paw down over her tail to prevent her from going _anywhere_. Jo winced.

Oh, grievances. Why couldn't he just keep this all a secret?

The meerkat girl then cautiously turned around to look back up at him. Kovu didn't look very amused. He moved his mouth… visibly pondering over this.

"…I think I better take you home," he told her solemnly.

Jo frantically shook her head. She clasped her paws together.

"Kovu, _please_," she said desperately. "My parents _cannot_ find out about any of this! Please…? They'll never let me do anything ever again…"

"Too late," Kovu said matter-of-factly. Jo's face melted… into stomach-turning dread.

"Wha…?" she began to utter. "Who… when? How?"

Just then, a fluttering of wings came about above Jo's head.

"-Quite a fortunate thing I saw what happened!" a royal, nasally voice said. Jo spun around.

Of course. The bird-brain hornbill.

Zazu perched himself on the branch of a tree hanging overhead, looking quite alarmed and irritated.

"…Miss Johari, just what on earth did you think you were doing?" he asked her. Jo narrowly stared at him… gawking at him. Then looked back at Kovu.

He casually rolled his eyes upward… gathering his next words.

"…A, uh… little birdy told them," he told her coolly.

Oh perfect.

Jo groaned and rolled her own eyes… she hunched over, and pouted.

Another small rumble of thunder sounded from out of the sky… reminding them all that the fun was over.

Kovu sighed… almost sympathizing with Jo. In fact, he had gotten into trouble with his own mother several times before.

Kovu then looked down at her.

"Come on," he said. "Gotta face the music sometime or later…"

* * *

At some point in every teenager's life, there is always that dreaded, dead-kid-walking feeling in the pit of the stomach after a wrongdoing.

That was exactly what was churning in Jo's.

She, Kovu, and Zazu had just about re-entered the Pride Lands when it began to gently drizzle rain. Kovu led the way back to Pride Rock, and they all spotted a few familiar faces waiting for them in the distance at the foot of it: Simba… Pumbaa… and Timon and Kheeva, of course. Apparently, they all had caught sight of them as well. Pumbaa's face lit up.

"Hey, look!" he announced happily. "There they are!"

Jo rolled her eyes.

"UUUGGH…!"

Kheeva clasped her paws to her mouth and gasped. She didn't look mad like Jo had anticipated. But more scared. She could've been crying for all Jo knew, but it was too hard to tell in the light, sprinkling rain.

Simba eyed his best friend's daughter from a distance… and came to realize that maybe it would be best if they just left.

As Jo trudged forward, she saw the lion king bend down to his warthog friend and murmur a few syllables. Pumbaa nodded.

Simba and Pumbaa then got up to leave… making their way back up to the warm, dry den of Pride Rock. Kheeva let her arms drop from her mouth and opened her arms wide to Jo. When her daughter was close enough, she came up to her and grabbed her into a long embrace.

Timon, however… stood off to the side, letting the two hug. He fiddled with his fingers… showing his teeth worriedly.

Kheeva then parted from Jo.

"Don't _ever_ do anything like that again!" she commanded, her eyes a little wet. "You had us scared to _death!"_

She then hugged her once more, stifling a sob. _Now_ Jo felt bad.

No… not bad. _Horrible_.

"I…" Jo softly started. Her words were muffled by her mom's fur. "I'm sorry, mum."

Kheeva sighed. She was okay… which was all she really cared about.

Kovu then came strolling up behind Jo, with Zazu fluttering by his side. Kheeva looked up from her daughter when she heard them approaching.

"…Oh, thank you, Kovu!" she said… almost disregarding everything that had ever happened in between her and Kovu in the past.

Saada, and all.

"Where was she…?" Kheeva asked.

"…We found her with some of her friends, Kheevs," Kovu then informed her. "Good thing Zazu was there to tell us. They almost got killed today."

Jo rolled her eyes… _still_ in her mom's arms.

Yeah. _Real _good thing. He couldn't thank that hornbill enough.

Said hornbill then decided to land on the ground by Kovu's feet. Zazu opened his tangerine beak to speak.

"…And just _who's _bright idea was this, anyhow?" he inquired poshly.

An ominous roll of thunder emitted from the clouds. As Kheeva still held Jo… she slowly began to remember just _how _this stupid situation came to happen in the first place.

She clenched her jaw.

Kheeva suddenly let Johari go, and turned around angrily at the culprit.

Timon stood there… watching everybody watching him. He then tried to smile meekly.

"Heh-heh…" he tittered, trying to crack at least the _tiniest _smile from old Kheevs. But she wasn't smiling in the least. She wore a look that said it all: "I told you so."

Timon's tense expression softened… into dread.

Now he was in for it.


	9. Ideal Family

"-You just _had _to let her go, didn't you?"

"-Like I knew a _panther _was gunna show up!"

"-Panthers _like_ well-watered, high places!"

"-They do?"

"-She could have been killed!"

"-But she didn't!"

"-You make the most _bonehead _choices, you know that?"

"-Fine. _I'm_ wrong, _you're_ right."

Kheeva and Timon were at it again. The rain had picked up from outside above the burrow they were in, which was just outside Pride Rock. A faint roll of thunder sounded every now and again between their points.

"I don't want to be _right_," Kheeva retorted, getting exasperated. "I just want Johari to be safe!"

Timon stood near the wall of the burrow, folding his arms. He glared off… quite angrily at that… knitting his brows.

"…Get real, Kheevs! Like you knew a panther would show up, either. You're just pinning this all on _me _because something _did _happen. Let's just all point fingers at me, because it's always _my _fault for _everything!_"

"-Name _one _time it hasn't been your fault!" Kheeva shot back.

Timon sarcastically held a finger to his mouth- although he had to think hard.

"-Gee, I dunno," he snapped. "Global warming? Hormones? The _dinosaur wipeout?_"

"-AAAGGH!"

Kheeva then tugged hard on her black ears, just about ready to pull them out. She turned around and paced away from him. A roll of thunder trundled from above ground.

Kheeva inhaled slowly, calming herself down.

"Are you even _trying_ to be a responsible parent?"

"-_Excuse ME?_"

"-You heard me."Timon rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many hours of sleep I sacrificed while raising _Simba?_"

Kheeva said nothing. Timon nodded with a smirk.

"Yeah, _a lot!_"

"That panther almost killed your daughter… and you seem very unconcerned."

"-Doesn't mean I don't care!" Timon threw his arms up. "For _cryin' out loud!_ Not _all _carnivores are double-crossing little schemers! Those jackals brainwashed ya! Geez, it's a _wonder _how your dumb old buddies got themselves _killed!_"

That struck Kheeva's last nerve. She immediately crossed her arms and tightened up, turning away before the tears rose up.

Timon realized a little too late that he should have been a little more specific with _which_ of her dumb old buddies he was talking about.

"I- I didn't mean that!" he tried to say with an arm out. "Kheeva- that came out wrong! I didn't mean- _I meant Mauti!_"

Timon pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I didn't mean _Saada_…_! The two jackal sist-!_"

Kheeva cut him off.

"-Berkowitz, sometimes I just don't get you." She turned back around. The curled lock above her eye shifted. "I don't know why I have to put up with you and your..."

Her voice trailed off. She didn't finish her sentence.

Timon's eyebrows shot upward. He crossly set his fists on his waist, leaning forward. Waiting.

"...Yeah...?" he then carefully asked.

Rain continued to patter. Silence.

Kheeva then gradually appeared disgusted. She waved it off, turning around like she never said anything.

"-Forget it."

"-No, _no!_" Timon then said in a patronizing tone. He then stormed up behind her. "I'm all ears. Were you gunna say somethin'?"

"-Nothing."

"-Sheesh, for someone who _'never listens'_, I beg to differ right about now…"

"-YOU, okay?" Kheeva blurted out. "I don't know why I have to put up with _you_. You're just another kid to raise."

Raindrops pattered on the ground above the dim burrow. For maybe the first time in his life, Timon actually was driven speechless.

His eyes hardened.

"…Well, _gee_, Kheeva…" he began sourly. "…If I'm _that _big of a problem to ya…!"

Kheeva clenched her teeth. Her next words were very cold.

"Are… you... _suggesting _something?"

"…Who me?" Timon asked innocently, setting a paw to his chest. He shook his head in fake sympathy.

"Oh, _no_… all I was gunna say… was that you don't have to _torture yourself _by being with me!"

"-_Good to know!_"

"-I know _I_ certainly don't need this!"

"-NEITHER DO I!"

Timon flinched at how seriously fed up she was. Only to get angry again.

"Well, FINE!" he crassly shouted. "I can go solo again!"

Timon made no hesitation to hop inside the grass nest in the corner of their burrow. He reclined in it, stretching his arms behind his head and crossing his legs.

"…_You _know where the door is!"

Kheeva in an instant stormed over to him. She then snagged his skinny wrist and hauled him up to his feet. Timon suddenly yelped in high-pitched pain as his mate shoved his back towards the entrance of the burrow.

"-SO DO YOU!" Kheeva shouted.

"-HEY! What're you doin'? You can't kick _me_ out!"

They reached the mouth of their burrow entrance. Thunder collided up in the clouds with lightening to accompany it.

Timon whirled around at her with a conceited smile.

"HA! I'm not worried about a little rain! I'll just sleep in Simba's den!"

"Well, _hakuna matata_ for YOU, then!" Kheeva yelled as she returned to the grass nest to claim it for the night.

Timon flashed Kheeva's back a hard glare.

"HAKUNA MATATA, THEN!" he yelled turned back to the mouth of the entrance. It was dripping with water outside the frame. He reluctantly stepped outside, cautiously sticking his head out. Thunder clashed, which only made him yelp out of fear, and scamper straight out of the burrow for Pride Rock.

* * *

It wasn't just thunder storming in the Pride Lands. All throughout the savannah, animals ran for shelter as rain came down hard. Two jackals dodged through the storm in the middle of a canyon. One stopped momentarily, waiting for the other to catch up.

"Will you _keep up?_" Mauti demanded.

"Sorry! I slipped!" Faraa called back apologetically. She kept her head dipped low. She was either trying to avoid the rain... or showing submission to her angry sister.

Faraa prodded up to Mauti's side, then took a brief moment to shake the access water off her matted, gray fur.

Mauti watched her… simply hunching over her shoulders and rolled her reflective, yellow eyes.

"We'll _never_ get recruits for Zira if you choose to keep lollygagging…" she muttered.

Faraa finished shaking herself off… and she smiled at Mauti.

"Aw, look on the bright side, sis," she said. "At least we're together!"

Mauti glared.

That was precisely why she was so aggravated.

They both darted off again.

* * *

Far in the desert, thunder rolled and lightening struck. And animals all around were finding ways to deal with the weather. Scar sat at the mouth of a small den, observing the rain fall from outside. Subira and her family were relaxing in the back of the cave.

They fed Scar a bit earlier in the day, and he was perfectly fine with it. But they hadn't said much to him since he awoke to find them this morning. Almost as if they didn't know how to approach a lion who had just lost all of his prior memories. Scar didn't blame them… they didn't even know his name. Nor did he. It must've been a real irritant, then… trying to get as much important information as Subira's family could about Scar... and him always telling them the same thing: he didn't know, or couldn't remember.

But they seemed very forgiving of that fact… and they never failed to be persistently attentive and kind.

"Hey, mister lion!" a voice called, reverberating off the cave walls. Scar slightly turned over his shoulder.

It was Hamu. His older sister, Thamani was reclining next to him, her paws neatly crossed over the other.

"Come' ere!" Hamu said to him. "We wanna ask you more stuff!"

Scar inhaled. He got up and made his way over towards the two. Subira and her father- who Scar later found out everyone just called him Grandfather Lion- were sitting silently in the back of the cave, watching Hamu and Thamani.

At Scar's approach, Subira's head lifted up. Scar looked rather drowsy… or he could have been in pain.

"…How's the head?" Subira decided to ask.

Scar glanced up at her voice.

"Fine, thank you."

Subira warmly smiled, and she said nothing more.

Hamu knitted his brows closely as he saw this. The cub smirked at his mother. Hamu then swung his head back over to Scar.

"Okay, so… do you… like, remember _anything _since you woke up, mister?" he said. Hamu was squinting at Scar, although investigating.

Scar sighed quietly. He sat calmly in front of Hamu and Thamani, adjusting his front paws as he did so.

"…Nothing comes to mind at the moment," he told the boy.

Thamani then lowered her head, resting her chin upon her paws.

"…What about the head injury?" she mentioned. Thamani titled her head curiously. "Do you remember anything about that…?"

Scar's eyes went up to the cave ceiling. He knew his head had gotten hit… obviously. But he couldn't recall just what it _was_.

Scar inhaled gingerly... and answered her regretfully.

"…All I know is that it wasn't the most… _pleasant _of experiences…"

"-Then I guess you dunno what happened to yer eye, either," Hamu said, cocking his head matter-of-factly.

Scar's head came up. This got his attention.

The little lion cub tilted his head innocently... and blinked casually.

"…Do ya?"

Scar stared... completely ignorant as to what the boy was talking about.

Silence. All that could be heard was the rain continuing to splatter madly to the ground outside the cave entrance.

Thamani glanced up at this… wondering why is got so quiet. Hamu then began to break apart his smile in little steps… now noting the look of concern on Scar's face.

Scar looked like he _really _didn't want to ask… but he had to know. Apparently Hamu… any everyone else knew something he was entirely aware of.

"What… is wrong with my eye…?" Scar said.

The siblings Hamu and Thamani just stared blankly at him. Then slowly at each other. They appeared like they were really hoping he would recall _something _about his past.

They both turned their heads at Scar again.

"Uh… well…" Hamu frankly began. "…It's kind of scarred up."

Scar lifted a brow. Well, this was new to him.

Scar then raised himself up on all fours, now keenly interested with just what the two children were claiming to be true.

He quickly skimmed over the cave floor… although looking for something. And then found something satisfactory enough. Scar saw a small puddle that was forming in the rain just at the end of the cave entrance.

Scar suddenly made haste over to it.

"Uh- _wait!_" Thamani called after him. But Scar had already prodded up to the puddle. The lion peered over the water on the ground. Drops of water pitter-pattered upon the face of the puddle.

The reflection in the water didn't lie. There was indeed, a single, nasty faded gash over Scar's left eye. He peered a little harder with a little incredulity.

Stone the crows- how did he get _that? _He couldn't recall _any _history whatsoever regarding his eye…

Scar just stared down at the stranger looking back at him in that puddle. Like he didn't recognize himself. As a matter of fact, he really _didn't_ recognize himself. Scar hadn't exactly… gotten a _glimpse_ of himself since his accident to be educated a lot about his physical makeup.

Subira took note of him. She lifted her head from her paws to watch Scar across the cave… wondering what he was doing.

The reflection didn't really match the picture Scar first had about himself in his head. There was the blatantly obvious open wound on his head, for one thing. But he was honestly a more… tired-looking animal than he thought. He had an off-white muzzle… and a black mane. All of it was a thin layer of raven-black silk, resting around his neck and shoulders. Dark, triangular nose. And whiskers. Five on each side, to be exact.

Scar looked in deeper, like he had never seen any of this before. Or more precisely- the first time he ever had.

This was… new. All of this was new. He didn't come as a… horrid shock to himself. But… this was different than what Scar had imagined. This was… okay.

Scar's eyes never left the water. He gently lifted his paw and held it under his chin… beginning to softly carve along the outline… following his jaw line. He examined the detail… how the fur he discovered he possesed hung off of his chin in a small tuft.

He, of course, was completely unaware of Subira silently watching him.

Scar was also unaware of the intense expression written on her face.

He then finally loosened up his inspecting eyes and sat back nonchalantly… although suddenly unmoved by it all.

"Hnm," Scar said. He then lowered his paw. "Oh, would you look at that, I've got… green eyes," he said aloud.

Subira was staring in wholesome dismay. This was tugging at her heartstrings. She just stared silently at Scar… and didn't know _how _in the world to react to this scene. This was worse than she thought. This was awful.

No. No- this was _heartbreaking_. The lion had forgotten how he looked.

Subira glanced away, and Scar continued to gaze down at the puddle in her background. Thunder trundled high up above the clouds.

This moved her enough to do something. He was practically looking at himself for the first time. She didn't think it was possible, but how could a person forget something so outrageously simple as the color of their irises?

"It looks it might have been a claw mark," Thamani called out behind him, breaking the fragile silence. "…Elephant tusk, or _something_…" she said.

They were still talking about his scar. A little pang of emotion then hit Subira and she pulled in her lips, trying to bat it away. She couldn't imagine what this lion had went through.

Then an idea came to her mind.

Subira turned to her father, who was sleeping soundly next to her.

"Father," she whispered.

The senior gray lion whizzed in and out loudly… perfectly content in his slumber.

Subira winced and glanced away, back over to the mouth of the cave. She didn't want to wake him up, but she had to ask him.

Subira tried again.

"Father…" she said. "…Wake up."

The old lion snorted with a shake of the head and then snapped open his eyes.

"-_What's that-_!" he said, scanning about the perimeter. He glanced up… only finding his comely daughter staring at him with little amusement. She looked like she wanted something.

Grandfather Lion narrowed his eyes… and scowled. He angrily tossed his head to the side.

"Oh, I'm blighty knackered, Subira," he muttered. "Can this rubbish wait 'til tomorrow?"

Only the- _slightly _younger lioness- was able to translate. Subira then moved her gaze back over to Scar across the cave. She sighed heavily. Troubled.

"Father…" Subira began, "…This isn't rubbish." She looked back at Grandfather Lion. "This gentleman hasn't got a single notion about who he is."

Her father then looked a little less irritated. The senior pouted his lip, pondering this. He then spotted Scar across the cave, and curiously stretched out his skinny neck to look at what he was doing.

He was still looking down at his reflection. Scar apparently found it to be the most intriguing part of his day. But… he still looked discontented. It was really a depressing picture.

Subira returned her glaze back to her father, and spoke quietly enough so her children wouldn't hear.

"We should take this lion in."

At that, her father's eyes suddenly blinked, twice as big. He gawked at her like she had just told him to take a long walk off a short cliff.

"-Have ye gone off the _deep end_…?" Grandfather Lion inquired. His daughter blinked around a little and tried to reason.

"…We're certainly capable of it," she informed him. Her father's puzzled expression didn't quite agree with her tranquil one. Grandfather Lion sighed tiredly… trying his best to sound level-headed to his daughter.

"Subira… my dear…" he addressed her. "We've got enough problems trying to take care of _ourselves_. Here… er… you've got a family… and they need you now more than they ever have."

Subira acknowledged this. She gave a sideways nod.

"…Rather…" she said, her eyes wandering. "…But, have a heart, father. There's never any harm in putting others first."

"…Oh, you sound like your _mothuh_," Grandfather Lion snorted. "You're far too blazin' concerned with everyone,"

"…And you say this although it's a bad thing?"

Grandfather Lion contorted his face, perplexed. He mumbled to himself behind his white, mustache-like mane. "Eh… well, no… but… we're leaving tomorrow again _anyways_, my dear."

"He can come along."

"…I do say…" Grandfather Lion then said, stealing another look at Scar. "…The chap's a little _old _to handle all that walkin', innet he?"

Subira then blinked with delight. "Oh! Well, that's the raven saying the crow is black, isn't it?"

Defeat. Grandfather Lion was all out of excuses. When he realized this, he gradually cracked a tiny smile… and then suddenly grasped his chest with his paw, feigning pain.

"Ack!" he exclaimed, throwing on a dizzied expression.

Subira smiled. Her father then lowered his paw.

"You got me, love. _Oh alright_… but he's nawt sleepin' anywhere near you… and make sure he gits up on time."

Subira smiled brightly. She then dipped her head closer to his and nuzzled him.

"_Thank you_, daddy…" she stressed happily.

"-Yeah, yeah…" Grandfather Lion said, and then stole a glance back to Scar. "…The scantling."

Subira then began to sit up straight, moving her glance over to Hamu and Thamani. They had drifted into a conversation of their own regarding Scar's scar.

"-I bet you he was!" Hamu insisted, looking rather assertive.

Thamani found her brother's strong- rather ridiculous- declaration amusing. She rolled her lime green eyes.

"-And I bet you you're insane…" she murmured.

Hamu frowned a bit. Nobody believed him. After all, _she _was the one who told him about those fabled animals…

"…That scar was given to him by a pride of mutant chickens!" he stated quite confidently. "You said they exist! Whatever they are…"

"…Yeah. It's what _you_ are."

"-I'm notta chicken!" Hamu then got up on all fours, defended himself. "I'm an imaginative bundle of joy! Mother says so!"

"-Alright, you two."

Thamani and Hamu ceased their conversation to look at their mother coming towards them.

"…I'd say it's time for bed." Subira told them, stopping before her children. She lifted a thin brow.

"…The both of you."

Hamu lolled his head a bit and whined.

"Aw, _mom_…"

"We've got a long day of walking tomorrow, and you need the rest," Subira reminded her son.

Realizing she was right, Hamu breathed out, and slowly got up to stroll over to a small corner in the den… preparing himself to go to sleep. He sat down and reclined.

Scar was still at the cave entrance, but he slightly turned his body to take a peek behind him. Hamu had unhinged his jaw, yawning widely and noisily. He closed his mouth, and then closed his eyes, resting his chin upon his two pudgy paws.

Scar glanced down at the cave floor, speaking up to Subira.

"…What would you happen to mean by that…?" he then asked out of curiosity.

Subira looked up at Scar's voice. She hadn't explained to him her family's circumstances.

"Ehm…" she started to say. The gold lioness then began to stroll over to him to clarify.

"…We don't stay in the same place too often," Subira notified him. "We just… migrate. Some places are too hot, some are scarce of food." Scar stretched up an eyebrow. Subira went on.

"…And sometimes we can't find anywhere at all suitable to live. Anyway, well… we were going to head south tomorrow morning… and we were hoping you'd like to come with?"

Scar blinked at her, letting some rain fill in the silence between them. Subira just looked at him, waiting on his answer.

They wanted him to come with? He wouldn't know where else to go if he were to decline on her offer. Or anyone else to go to.

Scar visibly composed himself and took a glance back outside where the savannah was getting soaked.

"…I don't want to start becoming a burden to you, madam," he said calmly.

Subira's face sort of turned perplexed… now seriously wondering if he was being prideful… or mindfully considerate. He had just lost all prior knowledge about himself, and he was the one worrying about being a burden?

She slipped on a confused smirk, glancing about.

"…You're not a burden on my part, sir," she told him, shaking her head reassuringly. Scar turned back to her. Subira modestly dipped her head a little lower in a questioning manner.

"…Why would I ask, should you be?" she then said.

Scar stared. Outside, water drizzled noisily off the lip of the cave mouth.

He found her point in the matter… this family just wasn't going to give up, were they?

Thamani then came up behind them in the middle of their conversation, looking up to her mom as she passed Subira by.

"…Is Grandfather going to tell us another story tonight?" Thamani inquired. Subira suddenly turned from Scar- over to her daughter's voice.

The elder lioness then regrettably shook her head.

"…Grandfather is well on his way to sleep," she told her, but added on reassuringly. "But I promise you, there will be a story tomorrow."

It was a little disappointing, but it was enough to make Thamani smile a tiny bit. She merely rolled her pupils and submitted willingly.

"…Okay," Thamani said.

"…Now," Subira started politely. "Please get some sleep, Thamani."

Scar moved his eyes around in the dark, waiting for them to wrap up their interlude.

"…Love you, mom."

"…I love you, too."

The adolescent then turned the other way, strolling over towards the corner of the cave to her younger brother and grandfather. Subira then returned her glance back to Scar.

He still had not given her an answer. Scar readjusted his posture as he sat, and indifferently shrugged- unsure of himself.

"I… wouldn't mind," he nearly muttered. Scar began to creep his eyes back outside to the drenched desert land.

"All right then," Subira said. She inhaled a deep breath, and began to turn her body back to the end of the cave. She then briefly made eye contact with Scar.

"Be sure to get enough rest."

Scar didn't say anything and let his eyes slink over to watch her. He gave a nod, and let his simple silence suffice as an answer.

The lioness then settled herself down near her father and lay her head in her paws, prepared to get some sleep.

But without her knowing, Scar observed her family in the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but watch the picture.

Subira was nestled next to her children, Hamu and Thamani. They lay side by side, with closed, peaceful eyes. Grandfather Lion had his mouth ajar… sleeping soundly… and quite audibly, with his head cradled in his forelegs.

The ideal family. Something one didn't come across very often. Something he didn't even know if he had or not.

Scar let out a low sigh. Wouldn't his own family be out looking for him right about now? Where were they? There was bound to be someone who cared… somewhere. He had _no _clue if family even existed for him.

Perhaps it was all going to come back to him. This could all reveal itself in due time. All he could do was wait… and hoping a little couldn't possibly hurt, either.

Scar slowly stood up and wandered back towards the den to go to sleep.

* * *

_While writing a lot of later parts in this chapter, like Scar's reflection for example, I was listening to some of the more poignant scores from the movie _Ice Age. _Specifically the piece, _"Checking Out the Cave" _You can find it on YouTube, and you can listen in as you read if you really want to know a lot of my inspiration behind this chapter._

"_Checking Out the Cave:" watch?v=7rHyPihbz4k&feature=related_


	10. Bon Voyage!

Black.

No visions. No shapes, nor colors... no faces to match the words being uttered...

"_Thanks for taking me with, uncle Scar. This was a great idea!"_

"…_Just one of the many that I have…"_

Everything was reverberating.

"_I like it when it's just you and me. We should take more walks like this all the time!"_

"_Well… the pleasure's certainly all mine, Simba."_

"_I mean, when _I'm_ king, I promise to make sure we spend extra time together."_

"_Mm-hmm."_

"_Man… it sure is warm out. You think it'll be nice like this all year?"_

"_Only time will tell. Now you wait here. Your father has a marvelous surprise for…"_

"…You, old lad! Come on, now, chop-chop!"

Scar's eyes opened. The second they had, sunlight spilled over his pupils, causing them to narrow. Scar then regretfully groaned and shut his eyes again, turning his head.

Daylight. Already?

Grandfather Lion's cheery silhouette stood eagerly in front of Scar, with a bright aurora of light emitting from behind him.

"Come on now, good chap, look alive!" he said merrily. "We'd be wastin' daylight!"

The senile lion then turned and went back to his own business, walking outside the cave.

Scar's mind was muddled. He just sort of stared after the old lion… watching him exit. That was a little awkward. When was he supposed to be up? No one bothered to wake him up sooner?

Scar took a quick glance about the den. It was empty. All that stared back was a blue-gray cave floor. He was the only one still left in here. So everyone else must've been waiting on him to wake up.

Just then, indistinctive voices rose out from outside the den. Scar turned an ear to listen. They were being used in a bright and chipper conversation. Scar had only been here for about one day, and he had already recognized the two voices as Hamu and Thamani's.

Scar's green eyes crept about the cave. He should get up. It must've been about ten or eleven o'clock already… judging the position of the sun.

Scar raised himself up on all fours. He inhaled and began to pace over towards the exit to the cave. He stepped outside… and bright sunlight fell over his form, making Scar's eyes narrow again.

The desert sun wasn't terribly uncomfortable in the early morning. It was a ball of light, floating at an angle in the sky, just beginning to warm up the land below. The sky stretched out for miles and miles all the way out here. It was a solid, blazing, bright blue. In fact, the sky was so broad and spacious, the entire thing looked curved like half a sphere, stretching over the land. There wasn't one cloud in the sky. The thunderstorm from the night prior must've passed over.

Scar came around the corner of the den to find the two children, Hamu and Thamani in light conversation, giggling to themselves. Once they heard paw prints behind them, Hamu and Thamani turned. Scar stood there, watching them watching him.

Thamani smirked.

"Well, look who's finally up," she said.

A big smile then flashed across Hamu's rounded face at the sight of Scar.

"Hey, Mister Lion!" he said. The cub then jumped up on all four of his paws to greet the older lion. "We were- we was _just_ talkin' about you!" Hamu told him as he scampered on over.

Scar didn't bother to pay a whole lot of attention to the young cub's excited mood. He blinked tiredly, still too drowsy to really care about what was happening around his environment.

He then attempted stretching by dipping his head low and towards the ground… then pulled his shoulders up to his ears to stretch his muscles.

Thamani observed him… and then opened her mouth to speak.

"…We were gonna wake you up earlier at sunrise, but we all thought that it would be a good idea if you slept in."

But then her glance went over to her brother… looking a little confused and interested. Hamu had then skidded to a halt, and stood right at Scar's paws. The child looked up, although with some kind of high regard.

"…Did you have a nice sleep, Mister Lion?" he said. "The den was a little cold last night, so I hope ya did. Especially with you being hurt and all. I can't imagine bleeding all that much. Blood makes me nauseous. Gosh, it's getting warm out. Why, I was just tellin' Thamani that I had this really cool dream last night, an… and you were in it! But… I forgot most of it… don't ya hate that?"

His words ran off his tongue faster than Scar's train of thought could keep up. Scar just kept his eyes half-lidded, then raised his brows with some forced interest to acknowledge he was listening.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a sound of busy, feverish paw pads running along the ground from behind the side of the cave. Scar and Hamu turned at the noise. Grandfather Lion then came frantically running to the scene. The senior citizen then stood by the cave, hurriedly scanning the area. His eyes were wild, although looking for something.

He then spotted Scar... and his two grandchildren sort of awkwardly staring right back. Grandfather Lion then he calmed down significantly when he saw everyone- as if that's what he was searching for.

"D'oh yes- good! Very good, then," he suddenly said. "Good. Now… a gust of wind due east…"

Grandfather Lion then mumbled to himself… suddenly sticking a single finger inside his mouth, and removed it to hold it high in the air. All Scar and the two children could do was watch him gingerly.

The withered gray lion paid no attention to their muddled gawks and inspected the ground intently, although he would find the answers he was looking for there. He then quickly began turn around and around… pacing in circles… continuing to mumble incoherently to himself.

Scar's eyebrows slid skyward... and studied the hurried, furrowing senior. He was quickly beginning to learn more and more about these lions the longer he stayed here. One, specific word then fell into Scar's mind regarding the old sod that pretty much summed him all up:

_Eccentric._

Grandfather Lion paced and he paced until he finally he slowed down a little, settling on a clear spot. Grandfather Lion then bust out a beaming smile. He suddenly faced triumphantly in a clear direction.

"Ah... pup-pup-pup-pup... ah-ha! South would be this way. Oh, poo. That's not right. Er, Subira, poppet, where on _earth_ is south?"

Scar turned. At the old lion's request, and at the side of the cave, Subira had then come calmly into the picture to her father's call. She then explained a simple alternative to find the directions he needed… which involved finding which way the sun was positioned within the sky. It was still early morning hours, and it was still rising in the east. Grandfather Lion got excited and instantly caught on.

"By George Scott's whiskers, Subira!" he merrily exclaimed with a slight chuckle. "You've done it!"

At this, Subira passed him by with a soft smile, shaking her head to herself. Scar's expression however, slowly twisted into pained bewilderment.

He looked over at Hamu and Thamani. They looked like they were so used to this, they didn't dare ask any questions. Grandfather Lion, however, couldn't be anymore pleased with himself. He began to step out in front of them to lead the way outward.

"Come along, now!" he said. "And please, try not to stop and touch everything today, Hamu. Your mother would appreciate not pulling out anymore cactus needles."

Hamu scowled.

"Aahwww…" he groaned, although disappointed. But regardless, the cub sat up and obediently followed his mother- with Thamani on his side.

Scar watched Hamu and Thamani. He decided it would've been best for him if he followed alongside them... behind Grandfather Lion and Subira. They apparently were leading the way.

Scar figured that if he obtained a secluded standpoint within the children, he could better find out more about the family he was staying with through observatory. He already figured out that Subira's father, Grandfather Lion, had one or two marbles loose.

* * *

It wasn't even noon, and the day had succumbed to a much more unwelcoming temperature. The sun was suspended high up in the air, reporting itself for duty over the African Sahara.

A brilliant, bleached orb in the sky.

The lion party was inching forward along the landscape. A fine line of golden sand dunes made out the horizon for them, painting out the only visible distinction between earth and sky for travelers out here. The heat was reverberating… ringing. Air began to simmer above the surface of the sand, roasting anything- and everything that it touched. This was the edge of the desert.

And Scar had a feeling it was just getting started.

Conversation between the family of lions was light for the most part… save for Hamu, who insisted on making the trip as much of a musical experience for himself as he could. The cub could only handle so much silence at a time... and he had to entertain himself.

Subira didn't admonish the boy. She actually found it a little amusing, since his scatting symphony didn't seem to be hurting anybody.

Although Hamu had been too swept up in it. Everyone was then temporarily slowed down due to deal with the cub stepping on a small- angry snapping scorpion that was well-hidden in the sand. Subira and Hamu pulled over to the side, and his mother had to remove the stinger out from his paw.

The boy was alright, but this just made Hamu's grandfather a little upset because the boy wasn't watching where he was stepping. Before long, Hamu was back on his feet, carrying along like nothing ever happened. He was either a very brave cub, or one too content in his own head to notice anything else.

Scar watched him from a distance… making his own observation on Hamu's animated temperament- along with his own conclusion on his personality:

He was childish, in the best definition.

* * *

Once the day had hit noon, they had hit another problem. The sun had froze dead above them in the sky. Because of this, this made Grandfather Lion's sense of direction swerve off course. They no longer had a compass to tell them which direction south was. It wasn't too much of a big deal… since all they had to do was wait for noon to pass, when the sun would soon begin to move again in the sky- clearly pointing out _west_.

But the lion that found this predicament the most unpleasant was Thamani. The becoming lioness pretended to bemoan and throw the back of her paw to her forehead. She went wasn't shy to express her dread about the "inevitable death" they would all face while lost in the parched wasteland, if they couldn't find sufficient food or water soon.

Scar took a moment to watch this. Subira told her that her theatrics were only wearing everyone down- if not demanding attention. Thamani sighed, but respectfully yielded to her mother. Subira then tried to reason and told her she would leave to find something to hunt and bring back for everyone to eat. This made the teenager calm down… and almost made her a little too happy with the situation, like nothing horrible even happened.

To Scar, it seemed like these lions didn't even notice he was studying everyone. Thamani was a rising thespian. A drama queen. She seemed like the typical adolescent… wanting all eyes to be on her.

Scar watched her and Hamu. Seeing both children and their antics, it began to make Scar wonder more about what other kind of memories he had lost… along with that very same adolescent stage in his life.

It only took about an hour for Subira to return with a small, white creature in her mouth. A Fennec Fox. This was good, because by that time, Grandfather Lion had then announced that the sun was beginning to glide across the sky again.

Before long, they were traveling along again.

* * *

They all had reached nearly the other end of the desert, and were now traveling away from the hot, sandy open land, and into some tall, narrow rocky walls. They were a light reddish color.

Slot canyons. They must've been here for years… formed through weather and water, Scar presumed.

It was late afternoon. The sun was now just barely starting to make its descent within the crystalline sky… changing the color from solid aqua, to a melting bronze. And all this walking was starting to wear Scar out. He had spent the last few hours trying to better understand the party he was traveling with. Subira was all that was left.

She didn't shed a lot of information about herself… which bothered Scar. (Strange lions taking him in, and all). But after a few hours of some close inspection behind her, he now had something on her. It wasn't much, but he had remembered that he had heard her say a while ago in mid-conversation with her father something about her living in Giza… and how she always used to look forward to watching the starry desert sky at night. She went off to say how the sky goes through this huge transformation, revealing every sort of star and planet in the sky.

Alas, Scar wasn't paying too much attention.

Giza. This proved her family was nomadic. They were wandering all over the place, for whatever reasons- Scar had no idea about. Again, this didn't say much about her… other than she cared enough about Egyptian culture.

The group had arrived at the slot canyon… and they all had to get around them somehow… so, the family began to venture right through them. Their location was just beyond it.

Scar at this point was starting to get worn out. He knew this would be a lot of walking, but not _this_ much walking.

Grandfather led the way through an opening, hopping merrily over a few rocks, making his way through… with his daughter behind him. There was a small bridge made of stone, lying conveniently for the family to stroll down.

"Now, be careful, children!" Grandfather Lion said, smiling behind his mustache-mane. His voice bounced off the rock walls. The canyon formed rifts and cracks and crevices of every sort. "It's easy to get hurt around here!" he said.

Hamu's head then popped up from behind the narrow gap, he leapt up upon a rock and began to make his way down the little bridge… smiling proudly. Thamani came up behind him, following suit.

Hamu then smugly turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, Thamani, the opening might be too small for you to get through!"

At this, Thamani then looked slighted… and angry.

"Are you saying I'm _fat?_" she asked him.

Even from this distance, Scar could see Subira's face contort up front in disapproval.

Hamu suddenly then swung his head around, smiling cheesily.

"-No, I'm saying you're _ginormous_!" he called back to her… voice bouncing off the canyon walls.

Thamani scoffed… clearly offended. She showed hurt eyes turned her head for her mother's defense.

"_Mom…!_" she cried out.

"Oh, Hamu, _stop it_," Subira rebuked him from up front. Her voice ricocheted off the narrow canyon walls as well.

Scar then raised his eyes, both of them landing on Subira.

"I was just _kidding!_" Hamu then shouted back at his older sister, making his way over a few more red-colored rocks.

Hamu's mother, however, did a half pirouette and stopped walking. Subira faced Hamu more clearly and spoke like a civilized woman.

"…Hamu… go up in front please," she then told him. "I'd like you to be where I could see you."

Hamu sort of stopped walking and just looked at her… then began to frown.

"Sorry, mum," he then murmured incoherently.

The child then prodded up along his mother's side, getting in front of her.

Thamani pressed forward… secretly feeling justified.

Subira afterwards looked up… and probably more than unintentionally, her eyes… two peridots… landed on Scar. They both stared.

Scar then dropped eye contact. Quietly.

* * *

The elements began to settle down. The sun… the wild winds, and the raging heat started to grow weary, having enough for the day. It was getting cooler in the desert… the sun was making preparations for a sunset.

It began to sink below the mark of the horizon, drenching the sky in toasted peach, and loud, enthusiastic red. The clouds were glowing darkly over the barren land.

Fortunately, as the sun was putting on it's spectacular display… the entire lion party then stopped in their tracks, gazing forward to discover a safe haven inside the desert land. A refuge.

They examined the location from a distance. This was too convenient. This was exactly what they were looking for. It held silhouettes of stalky palm trees… all of them gathered in dark clusters. It provided them all a refuge out of the heat. And where there were trees… there was water.

Where there was water… other animals… _food_… was roaming the area.

Hamu, was the first out of the group to proclaim his joy.

"Oh, _finally…!_" he burst out, slightly limping. He had to restrain himself from running to the refuge due to his earlier scorpion experience that morning, and his paw was still throbbing.

"I've never been so happy to see a tree in my life!" he said. His voice faded off as he skipped toward the thicket of palm trees, standing patiently in the desert sand. Their leaves rustled gently in a welcoming, warm breeze.

Scar then took one look at the sheltered haven.

His eyes narrowed, inspecting it. He then took a moment to take realize the feel on the ground. He lifted one paw, and took note of the firmer soil underneath it. This wasn't sand, exactly. This was a mixture of dirt and sand. They were only now beginning to reach the very outskirts of the desert.

At last.

Thamani watched her brother head out from within the group. She pursed her lips, and then decided to follow him.

"You've only been on the earth about a year, Hamu," she told him, fading away with him.

Hamu stopped. Apparently, it looked like the wind was taken out of his sails. He raised his chin… dignified and smug, looking down on her.

"…I've experienced a lot of _things _in life, sister," he replied.

Even at a distance, everyone saw Thamani hang her head… shaking it.

As the two children went off to explore, Subira caught up to her father and faced him… looking quite relieved. She then breathed in, trying to compose her frail figure.

"I would presume we are resting _here_ for the night," she told her father, eyeing the shelter, along with her children running off into it. It looked like Hamu and Thamani were trying to beat each other inside the thicket. Their faint voices bounced back at each other as they raced... and then faded off.

Subira then looked at her father.

"Dad…?" she said.

Grandfather Lion snapped his head at her direction, giving undivided attention… and an absurdly big, beaming smile behind his mane.

"…Would you please make sure they don't hurt themselves?" Subira requested. At this, her father blinked absentmindedly.

Then immediately hopped around, and rotated one-hundred-eighty degrees the other way.

"CHAARGE…!" he said good-humouredly. Scar flinched a brow.

The old lion then proceeded to run after the children like a gust of wind, straight for the palm tree haven.


	11. Arabian Nights

It was dark. The sun had finally set in the desert, relieving it's residents from the burden of the heat it was pounding down upon them. A refreshing coolness rose gradually, almost out of nowhere, in mere minutes after dusk.

Now, the desert was utterly, impeccably still.

There was nothing out here. No crickets, no other animals nearby to disturb the concrete silence. There was the occasional breath of wind, innocuously flowing through the endless valley of sand… drifting without any meaning, and without a purpose. It gently wafted the dust and grain, like a serpent caressing the sand.

This place was ancient architecture… it was cryptic and beautiful.

At this point in time, most of the family had broken off and scattered themselves among the camp site… with Scar being one of them. He spend the last few hours wandering around, gathering any former pieces of knowledge he had about himself together underneath the dark shadows of palm trees. There weren't any nighttime birds or insects to interrupt his thinking. Just the gentle flutter of palm tree leaves, rustling against each other in the dark.

Scar slowly and aimlessly kept walking. He didn't really know what direction he was going. He just brooded silently in the dark.

It was almost an apt illustration on how he felt. He was just wandering around now, without one single recollection of his name… his age, his past life… or whatever else came along with his existence.

Everyone else had made themselves comfortable in their new haven. Scar didn't even know where most of the family was, so he began to make an effort to find the bottom of the camp site before he walked a little too far.

Scar came across a few desert bushes. He left the thicket of palm trees, and walked right through the foliage of the bushes, having leaves rustle behind them.

Scar gazed up.

He then had to stop for a moment.

He was on top of a sand dune, right in the middle of the Sahara… beholding what was up in it's ink-soaked firmament.

It looked as though someone had ripped the fabric of the sky wide open in two, and the heavens themselves revealed all their cosmic splendor… and thousands upon thousands stars were spattered from one end of the sky to the other… searing passionately over the entire desert.

Scar kept his head up… where his green irises silently inspected the sky.

The sky was so black, it looked as though he were staring into an abyss. Into nothing. Each star was meticulously placed on the massive canvas, making a beautiful hailstorm of glitter. There was a thin curtain of blue-silver mist, swirling over the constellations. Nebulae gases.

A view like this only had to be found here, exclusively in the desert. There was nothing out here to obstruct the view. No tall trees to stand in the way… no mountains, nor any other distractions to rob the purity of the nighttime sky.

It certainly was nice to look at.

But after a few moments, Scar gazed back down. He began to head onward.

But then stopped upon hearing a noise… and paused in mid-step.

Scar's ears tuned in.

There were familiar voices nearby.

Scar glanced up, eyeing the area. Out here in the vast, dark desert, it was almost impossible to see anything.

But then he spotted two shadows, sitting at the bottom of the sand dune he was on.

He focused in harder, making them out as Hamu and Subira. They sat side-by-side, undisturbed under the dune… taking the opportunity to gaze at the stars in the sky.

He couldn't quite hear what they were saying. But curiosity got the better of him.

Scar looked to his left, making sure no one else was around. Then back at the two lions.

It was dark… and there was nothing else to do.

Why not? He had a feeling they wouldn't mind.

Scar then carefully placed a paw in front of him, making his way down the sand hill. It wasn't steep… and the soft sand made his steps a lot quieter. It trickled down beside him, grains of sand rolling over each other in streams.

He had managed to get to the bottom of the dune quietly. Subira and Hamu didn't notice. Scar then began to saunter up behind them. He noted how Hamu was reclining in his mother's paws. As Scar got closer, he could hear them much clearer.

"…Look, see it?" he heard Subira say. "It's the brightest one, right there."

"Erm… the blue one?"

"Yes… it's name is Sirius."

"How is it serious?"

"No, Hamu, _Sirius_. That's it's name."

Hamu then looked down from the sky, and titled his head up to face his mother the best he could while in her paws. He was looking at her from upside-down.

"Why do stars only come out at night…?" he asked. Subira's eyes gleamed back at him from upside-down. She smiled.

"Well… they're always out, Hamu," she told him. "You just can't see them in the daytime."

But Hamu's head had suddenly perked up upon hearing something.

His turned his head, curiously peeking out from one side of his mother, hearing footsteps.

But then the steps had slowed, coming to a halt.

Subira saw how her son's interest went to whatever was behind her. Hence, she gathered her brows together, and turned with curiosity as well.

Then spotted Scar.

He stopped and stood there… motionlessly still, and now a little nonplussed.

Scar's eyes shifted about. It looked like he had just interrupted something.

"Ah…" he began to say. "…Sorry… I just… heard you-"

Subira then tossed her head to the side and closed her eyes, although fatigued.

"Oh, don't apologize to us, sir," she said.

"…I'm not intruding…?"

"…No, absolutely not."

Hamu then beamed a bright smile and leaped out from his mother's hold.

"Mister Lion!" he said.

Scar took a step back. He sounded quite happy once he saw him.

Hamu had prodded up to him quite casually, gazing up at him.

"Why don't you come and sit with us? Why… mother was just tellin' me what she knows 'bout stars an' stuff. It's kinda neat. Ya see that star right there? That's Sirius! She says that that one right there is… is even bigger than the sun!"

Scar gave him a slow, thoughtful expression on his face.

Hamu then whirled around.

"…Innet that right, mum?"

Scar then looked at Subira for some kind of confirmation expression.

But what he saw was her looking at her son with an uneven smile. She gave way to a small laugh... but it came out as one of the most modest chuckles, with her staring down at the ground.

Scar could tell Hamu was wearing her down with his boundless flow of energy. He had been quite cheerful the whole day, and it looked like she was hoping it would've died down by now.

Hamu smirked knowingly at his mother. Then turned around to Scar.

"…She also says that it's the brightest one, too!"

Subira then tried to chuckle again… but it was nothing more than an unenthusiastic scoff.

"Well, actually, Hamu… the word 'sirius' means scorcher, or glowing in Greek," she said- quite casually at that. She then crossed her paws over each other while looking intently at him. "Someone had that knowledge before I did. I don't just say things, Hamu. You have to learn them."

Hamu whirled around with some newfound interest. His mother would've fared better if she were explaining this to someone more advanced in knowledge… like Thamani.

Hamu's face then scrunched up.

"Huh?" he said.

Scar, however, lifted his head. He had just acquired some newfound interest himself.

He blinked… trying to find something to say to that.

"It's not common to find one in Africa who speaks Greek, Madame…" he decided to say.

"Oh, I don't, really," Subira clarified for him. "I prefer…"

She then faded off. Then a smirk crept up on her lips in the dark.

"Aah…"

She stopped talking, deciding to drop her sentence. But Scar and Hamu were waiting on her... now without a choice but to receive some kind of answer.

She wrinkled her nose, trying to smile.

"I actually prefer Latin," Subira said. "That way the vocabulary one way or another is based off a root word in other languages. Like _désert _and _deserto_. They both mean desert, but the first is French, while the latter is Latin. That's how I know the star names."

"Well you ought to be commended for your hard studies, Madame."

But Subira merely sat there, unperturbed. Her eyes slid away… only to look back at Scar again. She shook her head… shrugging.

"It's not hard," she told him.

"_Mom_…" Hamu then huffed. His eyes were fluttering closed. "I'm bored. Can we stop talking about this stuff?"

"Uh, _actually-_" Subira then quickly began, began to rise up on all four of her paws, eyeing the area. She glanced down at her son.

"It's getting rather late, darling. Uhm… why don't you go and race us back to the camp? We'll catch up."

The boy beside her lit up.

"…ALRIGHT!" he exclaimed.

There was no hesitation. The boy whirled around and sped off, trotting his way back to their camping ground.

It was only until then Scar blinked… and stared after him with his green eyes all the way open. Hamu's antics and hyperactivity would wear out any other parent. But Subira remained ever calm and poised... eyeing her son run away.

But if there was one thing Scar knew- he was _not_ going to try and outrun that little cub. Scar wearily shook his head... then turned to Subira.

"You can't be serious, Madame," he said.

The ladylike lion then looked at him… rather quizzically, and scoffed.

"…And you'd be correct," she said.

* * *

The two lions then weaved their way back towards the campsite. The desert temperature was still frigid- to say the least, but by the time they had found the camp, everyone else was waiting for them. Grandfather Lion was just wrapping up a story he was telling Hamu and Thamani. They seemed quite enthralled.

Grandfather Lion seemed happy to be the source of their attention. In fact, he seemed plenty happy that the children wanted to listen to him.

Afterwards, everyone said goodnight, and had went to sleep almost immediately after. But Scar however was curious whether or not he should sleep out on the open barren sand land, or inside the grass thicket with everyone else.

If he slept out in the open, it would boldly state that he really didn't like the company of the family at all, and he was just being aloof. If he chose the thicket where everyone else was, he felt like he was being too chummy for everyone's comfort.

Surely if he still had a home, or even a family- this problem wouldn't exist. But in the end, he chose the thicket… and decided he would keep a reasonable distance from everyone else. He didn't want to impose.

Scar settled down, sighing out his nostrils and rested his head on his paws. It was too quiet out here. It radiated a peculiar, surreal type of peace floating through the air.

Scar stayed there momentarily, keeping his eyes idly fixed open. He glanced over at Subira and her family.

Everyone looked content as they laid there. Subira had Hamu curled up next to her side for warmth. Grandfather Lion slept across from his daughter, while Thamani was on her mother's other side.

Scar then removed his glance.

He _must've_ had a home before this. Parents, siblings, a family. Everyone had them. It was only common sense.

Before this… this whole… _incident_.

There was no possible way he could have gone all these years- his whole life- wandering around, not having a _clue_ as to who he was.

He tried to dig up any information he could still salvage in his memory. But it was too hard. Absolutely nothing would come up… no matter how hard he tried to search out that small, blank area of his mind.

Blackness. All of it.

He knew something must have obviously given his head quite a blow, but the problem was he just couldn't remember what it _was_.

Perhaps he wasn't trying hard enough.

Scar closed his eyes.

Then raised a paw to his head, rubbing it into his temple.

He firmly held his eyes shut… and forced himself to think. Searching, rummaging inside his mind… almost burying himself in his thoughts.

It was still black. A big, empty void. No sight, no sound… no feeling existed here.

It was no use. He could feel that nothing was in there. His head was really starting to hurt again if he thought about it any longer.

Scar lowered his paw, then sighed out his nostrils… then opened his eyes again.

This was not good.

No. No, this was an _issue_. How was he supposed to live like this? Why did this have to happen to _him?_ What if someone he knew from his past life was getting worried about him? They might have just found out he was missing, and were now grief-stricken that something bad could have happened to him. A sister, a friend, or cousin twice removed… or _something…_

Scar's chin lowered into his paws, beginning to blink slower and heavier. He laid that way for a long time.

He waited for these restless thoughts to depart from his mind.

But once they had… Scar had already fallen asleep.

* * *

Fog.

Dark green, rolling fog.

There was a lot of it.

It silently floated along… filling the deathly quiet realm. It gradually dissipated and began to present a clear view.

A breath of air pushed the fog out of the way, where it seeped up and down canyon walls, and through cracks and crevices. Scar had seen this place before. He knew it, but it looked different.

It was all distorted… and slurred in motion.

A gentle breeze came in and weaved it's way through the rock walls, eventually making shivering noises against dry bones.

Strange enough, this gust of wind was accompanied by the haziest voice.

It wasn't decipherable… and it sounded disturbingly familiar… but Scar was able to just barely make out a couple of words.

It was singing.

Something was a little off with the owner. The tone was a little soft. It was scary… and frankly a little sinister.

…_I know it sounds sordid… but you'll be rewarded…_

This voice rang out and echoed off the walls, reverberating into the black sky, hanging above the cavern.

The creature sounded more… foreign… than anything else.

A couple of large, looming shadows then began to gradually slink over the walls… slowly creeping their way across the rock formations. One after another, they passed all in a single file line.

Five… ten… fifteen… twenty dark silhouettes then began to march together in perfect sync. Scar could hear their paws hit the floor... with each step getting louder and louder… like thunder striking into the ground.

The scene alone was making Scar uneasy. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why he was here. Nothing was being explained. Everything was a continuous murmur… and none of it made sense.

All of the sudden, a large geyser blew a gush of green smoke out from the ground, and it went fizzing up into the air. Then it died down… and the attitude of the scene before him changed.

Now whoever was singing, their voice was blaring inside Scar's head- loud and clear as the sun is bright. More geysers began to blow up… red fissures and yellow steam erupted everywhere. Everything suddenly became enlivened, roaring with life.

Every word this entity was singing was strong and exhilarating, the owner of the voice practically belting out every word.

It was a bothersome level… it was beginning to agitate him.

…_Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning…_

Hundreds of eyes- all a piercing yellow- grinned happily and sang along… praising the singer... all admiring him. The ground…

The ground was shaking.

The song was now getting to the point where Scar realized that he was coexisting in two different realms. This wasn't reality. This was something else. Something very, _very_ undesirable and distressing. No.

No, he wanted to get out, now.

Along with their singing, a pair of skeletons on the ground then decided to get up and start rattling together in time with the song. They casted their shadows over hazy, purple walls.

Through his subconscious, Scar could barely feel his pounding heart outside his body. The whole thing was making him restless… provoking fear. But what really did it was the bold, menacing laughter echoing in his ears.

The one laughing was casted against a pale, crescent moon.

Scar… had _never _heard such a cackle in his life. It racked his emotions. It was remarkable enough- and frightening enough, to burn a lasting mark inside his memory.

All of the sudden, an alarming epiphany then dawned over Scar.

This laughter… was his own.

* * *

"How about pink?"

"Ugh! I _hate_ pink!"

"But I like pink…"

Vitani shook her head. "No… I'm not doing pink."

Kiara frowned slightly. The sun was just barely rising over the Pride Lands, painting the sky with lavender and orange. Simba was already up, observing his pride wander around, doing errands for Kiara and Kovu's marriage. These recent few weeks have been hectic, trying to ready everyone for the big day; and Kiara was at the bottom of Pride Rock, trying to persuade her maid of honor to wear a colored lily behind her ear throughout the ceremony.

"But it's such a pretty color," Kiara told Vitani nicely. The former Outlander then vigorously shook her head again, widening her eyes.

"I wouldn't be caught _dead_ wearing some pink flower."

Kiara closed her eyelids halfway, appearing bored. "It won't kill you, Vitani."

Vitani sighed hoarsely. "Can't you pick a different color?"

"Well," Kiara said. "Pink is just about my favorite color… I don't want any another color."

Vitani shook her head a _third_ time, growing a bit worried. "No! I can't wear that. I just… _won't_." Vitani stared up at Kiara nervously. Kiara sighed upward, trying to think of something else.

Vitani's face then brightened up.

"Purple!" she exclaimed with wide eyes. "Now I'll go just about as feminine as _purple_… but pink is where I draw the line."

Kiara smiled and giggled.

"…I like purple, too…" she said. "…We can do that."

Vitani sighed with relief, sitting down in front of Kiara.

Simba smiled at all of this, watching from atop Pride Rock. He turned his head in a different direction, observing his mate, Nala, supervise Timon's family in braiding strands of flowers together for Kiara's bridal crown. They seemed happy to do it. Timon's Ma and Uncle Max had shown up to lend a hand with everything, and they all stood around in a group at the bottom of Pride Rock.

Kheeva sat on a small rock, twiddling a few vines of morning glories together by herself. Two weak strands that refused to go together broke apart- and she grew exasperated. Kheeva whipped the half-braided thing down on the rock beside her and folded her arms, all in a huff. Her billow of fur that normally rested on top of her head fell down in front her eye- and she suddenly blew upward to get it out of the way.

A few white pedals from her flowers fell to the ground.

"Honey…" a voice calmly began.

Kheeva suddenly looked up, just a tiny bit off guard.

Timon's Ma stood before her, looking concerned. She clasped her two paws together over her plump chest.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Kheeva exhaled through her black nostrils. She tried putting on a cheesy smirk.

"No, Ma…." she said contently with her arms folded. "Everything is just _dandy_. See?" Kheeva took both of her fingers and pointed directly at her smiling face. "This is my 'I-love-my-idiot-mate-so-freaking-much' face!"

Timon's Ma said nothing. She just stared knowingly… being acquainted with her long enough to know what she really meant. Timon's Ma then bent over and gently picked up the half-braided vines on the rock next to Kheeva and handed them back to her in the palm of her paw.

"The sarcasm runs in the family," Ma said with a slight roll of the eyes, holding the flowers out to her. "Not just with this family- but with meerkats overall."

Kheeva just stared. A few moments went by, while the hurrying bustle of everyone else at Pride Rock in the background.

Kheeva then sighed with a roll of her head- taking back the flowery braids. Timon's Ma then sat next to her daughter-in-law, braiding her own strands of flowers.

"Timon and I had another fight, and now we're choosing not to speak to each other for a while," Kheeva said, glaring down to twirl the strands together.

Timon's Ma blinked.

"_Another _fight, honey? Oh, for Pete's sake, what could it possibly be about this time?"

"_He_ gave your granddaughter permission to go jump off some hundred-foot cliffs, and a black leopard attacked her and her friends," Kheeva explained sourly, clutching her flowers together as she braided.

"The thing almost killed her, and he seems _very_ indifferent about it…" she went on as she twisted the stems together angrily. "So… I kicked the runt out of our burrow, and my main plan is to avoid him like the town leper."

She continued to fiddle with the two vines. "And _then_ he had to mention _Saada_- which really got on my nerves."

Timon's Ma paused her braiding, glancing over to her. "And how does Jo feel about all this?"

Kheeva then raised her two fists to her mouth in an attempt to tie the braid with her little teeth.

"Tshee's not therry thurprised. She gets how we are." Kheeva said, removing the two broken vines from her mouth. She then tried twisting them around each other so they'd hold.

"I'll be taking care of her for a while… I'll teach her my point of view on things. But in all honesty, you should have seen us going at it. It was ugly. Ugh. The boneheaded, _irresponsible little_-_!_"

Kheeva was obviously incensed. She was gripping her braid a little more harshly than she should have. A few clumps of morning glory pedals dropped to the ground.

Timon's Ma saw this and instantly held out a paw. "Honey, honey…!"

She laid her paw on hers, telling her to stop. Kheeva obeyed momentarily… but then sighed... Resting her paws down in her lap, disappointed wit herself.

Timon's Ma then stood up from the rock, standing in front of Kheeva.

"…Just _tie_ the two ends together," she simply said, taking the ends of the morning glories and tying them in a tiny knot. The two vines then held.

Kheeva stared at her braid. Then glanced up. Timon's Ma smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

She then turned around and said nothing more.


	12. The Hunt

In another area, as the sun was creeping up over the African horizon, the clouds were slowly changing colors to a dark blue, to a gray-lavender, to a rich pink. The first traces of sunlight began to inch its way gradually across the wide open land. It dawned over the gorge- which was not so far away from Pride Rock, the entryway into the desert, and came over the walls of an unknown canyon on the other side of the Sahara… where two jackals were making plans with each other once again.

"Think, Faraa. This whole thing isn't going so hot."

"Really? It was really warm outside yesterday, Mauti."

"Not the weather, you ding-bat. I mean the _recruiting!_"

"Oh, that? But we managed to get two, Sis."

Mauti was up and about, moving quickly along all fours. She then took a brief moment to glance up, suddenly eyeing darts at her younger sibling.

"Two," she retorted. "Against what? An army of fifteen? Twenty? Wake up and smell the competition, Faraa. You _know _Zira will be expecting better out of us."

The much more inexperienced Jackal let loose a small huff, displaying her slight disappointment. Like that of a small child who had just been scolded at.

Mauti was pacing. Again. She thought much better moving around. It made her feel busy and important. Her smaller sister watched as she just sat there.

Faraa's eyes began to move upward, and onto a more interesting sight.

"We need to think about our pitches," Mauti explained. She did not lift up her head. "How we're getting others attention."

She then stopped. Mauti took note of how Faraa's eyes were averted upward onto something, not even remotely relevant.

Mauti slowly tightened her lips in disapproval.

"Can I... request you... to give me _yours!_" she belted out.

Faraa suddenly stiffened up… fear locked in her eyes. She didn't think her lack of awareness was _that _obvious…

"I'm sorry, Mauti! I won't get distracted anymore, I mean it."

"…You _do?_"Mauti deadpanned… her eyelids dropping half-mast. She looked like she was getting really, very exhausted.

Faraa was at least observant enough to take note. She gingerly began to smile through her teeth. It was the only thing she could do with the way she was looking at her.

Mauti then stepped toward her- adding on curtly.

"Are you _trying_ to antagonize me? Do you want to antagonize _Zira?_ Sister! She is expecting another quota by the end of the month! Now, make yourself useful and contribute some ideas!"

Faraa sank a little lower. She wasn't very good at this. This is why her older sister was in charge and made all the important decisions between the two of them.

Suddenly, Faraa's expression lit up, coming up with an idea.

"Compliments! Everybody loves compliments!" she said.

This made Mauti turn. Her curious eyes met with her sibling's, showing interest.

Faraa's smile stayed in tact… and she closed her eyes, nestling her neck inside her chest.

"It makes people feel all warm and fuzzy," she said, nestling inside her own shoulders. "Everybody likes to feel special…"

But Faraa had opened her eyes. The smile that was plastered on her face then dropped in an instant… when she caught sight of Mauti's _lack _of expression.

Mauti's face was solid… just staring back at her... no response whatsoever.

After a few moments went by, Mauti then curled her lips into a warm smile… which was odd, since it wasn't characteristic of her to do so.

It kind of threw Faraa for a slight loop.

Mauti raised her head wisely and knowingly, beginning to stroll on over to her.

"Faraa," she began. Mauti's mouth was pleasantly twisted in a certain way… nice and big as if she planned on handing out special, little treats.

She stopped to stand in front of Faraa. Mauti held up her paw, squeezing her two claws together for illustration.

"I am… _this close_…" she said, smile still in tact. "…To disowning you…!"

Faraa said nothing. It took no time for the cutting derision to sink in for her younger sister.

Mauti gently wiped away the beaming grin on her face, and casually turned around, trying to think some more.

She immediately slapped on a dirty glare again once her back was completely turned.

Faraa pulled in her lips and kept her mouth closed after that.

* * *

"…Brother… we shouldn't be here."

"…Will you stop acting like such a killjoy? It's getting on my nerves."

"…But what if dad finds out we were here?"

"…He won't find out. Now, come on… we're almost there."

The voices rang against the walls of his head. They were clearer and fresher, this time. Their words weren't so slurred and distorted.

There were visuals to accompany these voices. Their surroundings were dreary… ominous. There was a strange, hush of voices drifting through the wind here, rattling through the animals remains here.

It wasn't very reassuring.

"This place gives me the creeps…"

"…I've been here _before_, you know…"

A small, orange-brown animal hopped up onto a ledge. No, not a ledge.

The dry, dead bones of an animal.

Another small individual came up to his side and waited at the bottom. The other animal was a blurry, golden color.

"This place gives me the creeps…" he said. "I don't like it."

This boy… this was a cub talking to Scar… someone he had to have known before. This was a link. This whole scene was. It seemed so familiar. The sounds, the place... why was it so familiar?

The other individual sighed, and spoke like he was getting exasperated.

"…I've been here _before_, you know…"

"-You've been here _before?_"

"-Well, yeah, lots of times."

"-But dad _told_ us not to go here! He _told us_-"

"-Since when do you care so much about what dad says?"

There was a slight noise… weaving, drifting through the air… breaking through Scar's subconscious. It was a melody. It was almost too real to even relate it to what he was dreaming.

"-Forget it…" the boy said. "I'm going home, Taka."

The eyelids came open… after his name was once said.

Scar paused. Then began to slowly move his eyes… drowsily glancing around.

His surroundings appeared to be coming into fuller focus. The sky was turning a dark, gloomy shade of blue. A crow had squalled a few miles away, signaling that dawn was creeping over the horizon.

Scar closed his eyes again. Reopened them. He focused on trying to just get them to stay open without any early-morning pain running through their lenses. But the light was hurting his eyes too much.

Then, there was the noise again… the melody, apart from his dream. It was coming from not too far away. It was someone singing.

There were no words to the song… but plain, faint humming to a tune the old lion hadn't heard before.

Scar blinked groggily… inhaling through his nose, as if to brace up for getting up. Scar uncrossed his paws, attempting to stand up. As he listened in, it seemed as though the humming sensed he was awake.

And so it stopped.

Scar was far too tired to be curious about the owner of the voice… and lifted his head, glancing about. The Sahara around him was waking up as well.

Scar took his first steps forward, making his way down the small hill he was on.

* * *

Hamu giggled… gazing at his surroundings upside-down.

"…Okay, okay, I got another one!" he said. Hamu then cleared his throat. The boy was on his back, cradling himself back and forth. "…What did the lionesses say once they were about to eat their hunt?"

"Hmm," Thamani said. She took a minute to think.

She was sitting next to Hamu, pondering this from up above him. From Hamu's point of view, she looked upside-down.

"I dunno," she told him. "What?"

"Let us _prey_," Hamu finished.

Thamani smiled, revealing her white teeth to her little bother.

The sun was out, shining up in a cloudless, crystal blue sky. It was just as hot out as the day prior. Hamu continued to rock back and forth, lazily lying on the dirt ground along his back. It was to pass some time, since their mother was nearly ready to leave for her morning hunt. While her father… was off lying to the side, watching his grandson rock back and forth and hold his feet. For the most part, it looked like Hamu was enjoying himself.

Grandfather Lion raised a scruffy, white, big brow in perplexity at his words. Then shook his head and sighed, white mane shaking about.

He then glanced over to his daughter, who was sitting not too far away. Subira decided to gave him a warm, but tired smile.

"…I taught him that one," she said, just in case her father was wondering.

Her father's face moved, as if to smile back- _entertained_.

Just then, a rustle sounded from behind Hamu. The boy cub curiously lifted his head to see the source... And then smiled when he saw Scar coming forth out of the dead, grassy thicket to join them.

"Mornin' Sleepin Beauty!" Hamu piped out.

Scar said nothing.

The lion quietly strolled right on past him, keeping his head down.

Hamu's smile began to fade away. He then rolled right side up onto his side to watch him with more care.

Scar headed for a dry, secluded spot nearby. He sat down and hung his head, flicking his tail. Then sighed, shutting his eyes.

Thamani curiously pulled her lips in… wondering about him.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Scar still said nothing.

This type of attitude was a little bewildering to the family. They stared at him in curiosity… and then a few glances went to the next lion near them to exchange glances.

Subira smirked understandingly from a few feet away.

"…Bad night's sleep?" she said, taking a guess.

Scar this time lifted his head. He opened his eyes.

He looked in her direction… and nodded as a reply.

Grandfather Lion snorted.

"Those dastardly back aches!" he said. He then turned his head to Hamu and Thamani. "That's the problem when you kids get older. "Less sleep, more aches and pains- and a _heck _of a lot of back problems."

Hamu and Thamani gave their grandfather a weird stare… somehow not sure if they wanted to be enlightened.

Scar cleared his throat to clarify.

"…Grisly dream I had," he stated.

Hamu was still lying on his stomach. Out of sudden interest, his face quickly lit up.

"_Really?_ Cool!" he then said.

He then immediately rolled over and excitedly made the attempt to stand on his paws.

"Tell us! Tell us what it is!"

Scar was about to make an objection, curling his upper lip. He shook his head with protest.

"Eh, no. No. It's trivial."

"Aw, come on," Hamu begged, leaning inward to listen.

"It might be a sign of who you once were," Thamani chipped in, sitting quite coolly with her paws folded.

Scar realized she carried a point. It was a stretch, but at this point, Scar wanted anything to help him remember who he was… and anything his mind was telling him may have been an indicator.

Subira's thin lips gave way to a smile.

"You're right, Thamani," she told him. Subira raised her head to look directly at Scar. "Subconscious awareness may be a more, er… _powerful_… agent than the conscious effort to recall in an individual's psyche."

Scar held his glance, thinking about it, only to look away from her.

He wondered for a brief moment. A rather chilling musical rendition and crazed laughter wasn't the first thing he had hoped for to help reveal his lost memories.

Which was a sign that his past didn't look so good.

It looked dark. And bad.

Scar's green eyes stared into the ground… and then were raised up again… thinking it over.

"…Let's hope not," Scar said.

Subira twitched her tail, and narrowed her eyes… thinking after he said this. Her tail brushed the dirt along the surface of the ground.

Scar's head came up again, now looking tired.

"But if it is… there was more after that," he explained. "…I…"

Scar felt although his audience wasn't paying attention. It was too quiet.

He glanced back at Subira, along with checking the glances of the other lions. Nobody was saying anything. It was really quite the opposite. Everyone was too interested- too _concerned_- with what he was about to say.

Scar dropped his glance again back to the ground.

"…I have some… _small_ ideapertaining to what my name might be."

Subira's cat eyes opened wider.

"Your _name?_"she said. Her voice had gotten lower… although amazed that these details were coming back to him so quickly.

"What is it, lad? What?" Grandfather Lion gently asked.

Scar began to calmly shake his head… trying to decided whether to tell them this or not.

"Ahh…" he said uneasily. If the dreams he had been having recently were any clue- or any _use _to him whatsoever… he decided it would be best to tell everybody.

They seemed to care. They _wanted_ to know, just as he did.

"Taka," Scar said. "…It's Taka."

"'_Taka?_'" Hamu and Thamani said together in unison, although they were strongly disappointed.

"'_Taka?_'" Subira and her father repeated after the two children… just as unsatisfied as they were.

Scar's head came up.

"I know…" he said, closing his eye lids. He was still tired, and he preferred not to question anything. "I know what it means. But… it's what I was referred to…"

He then led his glance over to Subira again… saying the next word meaningfully.

"…_Subconsciously_."

"-Dreadful!"

"-Despicable!"

"-What kind of parents did you _have_…?"

The family was now asking for more answers. They were quite good listeners. Scar told them more about the menacing details in his dreams… the ones that frankly made him uneasy, whether they be true or not. The green fog, the laughter… and the loyal comrades that all sang and praised him, like he was their leader. As Scar went on, the children, Hamu and Thamani showed more interest than he was expecting as he explained the darker aspects within it. They were not as sensitive to disturbing ideas as he thought.

As they pondered over this, the family then told Scar it would be best to try and not to think about it anymore. They encouraged him to take his mind off it. Subira was about to run off on her morning hunt, and Scar figured this would be an opportune time to clear his mind of all concern.

* * *

Subira was a proficient hunter. It hadn't been too long out on the field, but the heat from the sun was in full effect at this hour. Being a lion, all Scar really had to do was sit on the sidelines.

Subira said the hunt would be good for him. It would focus on new memories for him, rather than dwelling on old ones.

In the meantime, Scar sat unperturbed somewhere within observing distance in the savannah grass. He wasn't paying too much attention to what Subira was doing. He would glance up a few times to watch her sprint after a sea of zebra a couple of hundred yards away, but he was far too concerned with the increasing dream pattern he was having.

Scar looked back down again.

He couldn't help himself but to think again about any possible remnants that could still be lurking somewhere in that dark, cold corner of his mind that was called his memory.

But, like he had tried before… nothing in that forsaken area of his was coming to mind.

Scar hesitantly peered up into the prairie grass. He then spotted Subira, slowing down her run after the herd of zebra, watching their meal fade away. There must have been under fifty of them… galloping off and up over a hill… advancing further away from her.

She stopped in a power stance and hung her head low- breathing with some difficulty.

Scar narrowed his eyes as he observed.

He did not want to presume how old the lioness was, but even though her age didn't look particularly obvious close up, it was beginning to show through that poised etiquette of hers.

He felt like he should be doing something. Take initiative. He felt like the rules of hunting were discriminating because he was a male… with an injured head.

Subira didn't move. She merely raised her head after a few moments, nonchalantly inhaling and exhaling to herself.

But then, there was a faint, rumbling sound. It made the ground vibrate like a small earthquake.

Scar felt it jerk beneath his forepaws. He looked down at the ground.

He noticed bits of soil were shaking beside his forepaws. It sounded like thunder rolling beneath the ground.

An anxious moment passed… and Subira was listening in as well. She turned her head towards the small hill beside her.

It was getting louder… and it was coming from over that hill.

Then, every single zebra Subira was chasing earlier came running over the hill in a panic, whinnying and galloping in several directions.

The herd was too close to even try to outrun.

Suddenly, Subira turned away from the charging horde, and shielded herself with her forearm.

Scar then instantly realized that they weren't stopping. The black and white storm trampled passed Subira… galloping, swerving… cutting around her, and made their way over to Scar's location in a frenzy.

Scar spun away and buried his face into his forearm, waiting for the wild zebras to fly passed him.

The African horses were prancing everywhere, kicking, nickering… trying to avoid crashing head-on into the two lions.

Scar managed to steal a glimpse out of his forearm to see bits of the zebra herd. It was all a black and white show of stripes, blurring across his eyes Even through all this turmoil, Scar could see a few expressions on their faces.

They all looked scared.

Scar's eyes came up out over the hill they were all washing over like a wave of water. Then… his green eyes locked firmly on something.

Scar came to realize that the zebra were all running away from _another _animal species other than him and Subira.

"Aw, man, I _hate_ fast food!" he heard a male voice called out.

Scar stared... holding his mouth agape. He stood motionless as zebra fled past his eyes. What was on the other side of the field made something in his mind… turn. Scar squinted squarely through the black and white forest passing in front of his eyes.

That voice…

On top of the peak of the hill, in the far distance… three spotted hyenas were charging straight after the wild horses, sending every bit of food running for it's life. Scar barely overheard their conversation.

"Ya bonehead!" a female screeched at him in the distance, running by his side. Her wafty, black bangs were suspended over her eyes like feathers.

"-_Now_ look at what you did!"

The trio's last member dashed frivolously up behind them, tongue flapping in the wind with drool sent every which way. His eyes were crossed and glazed over, and was laughing like a schizophrenic, although finding their squabbling amusing.

Scar stood there aimlessly… and almost in that instant, the entire ocean of black and white trampling across the field were becoming a continuous blur for Scar, and their thundering hooves around him began to fade into nothing, ringing in Scar's ears.

The hyenas were snapping and biting at zebra ankles, ravenous to just catch _one_. The zebras yanked their legs away in horror.

Something was telling Scar that he should run. Turn away. Right now. A certain eeriness befell over Scar, sort of urging him to take some kind of action. But the little voice in the back of his head… it was so tiny, so insignificant, it was being overpowered by the sense of astonishment that he was almost _certain_ he had heard the hyenas' voices before.

Scar watched the female hyena snap her head over at the male.

"-Ya just _couldn't_ help yourself, could you?" she barked.

"-I wanna zebra _now!_" he shouted. His brows furrowed. "I'm skin and bones over here, man!"

Scar quickly blinked- snapping back to reality. He gave a quick, vigorous shake of the head. The fur under his chin wagged.

This was all so… surreal.

The rumbling of the stampede finally began to die down. A few late zebra pranced about, skipping and kicking away from the three hyenas. They disappeared out of sight, and into the distance.

The plain had gone silent again.

Nothing made a sound through the now cleared out hunting field, except the distant, faint laughter and chattering of the spotted hyenas atop the hill.

Scar eyed the three miscreants. Now he was irritated. They had all just scared off an entire buffet for everyone else in the desert. Which was incomprehensibly rude.

Scar rose on all four paws. Then scanned the vicinity, looking around for Subira.

She was still in her same spot… and she turned and made eye contact with Scar, as if she were silently inquiring him if he knew what had just happened. Scar immediately took off and made a jog over to her.

Subira caught sight of him.

"…Are you alright?" she asked him as he prodded over to her.

Scar began to slow down and look downward, pacing himself as he stood at the bottom of the hill.

"I'm fine," he said. "Are you, Madame?"

"Fine, but I'm getting really very tired of trying to hunt these zebras down."

Scar looked at her momentarily. He just that moment remembered that Subira's family was still waiting for both of them to come back with something.

Scar then looked beyond Subira and up over the hill… watching the spotted hyenas turn and yell at each other.

Scar slowly glared daggers at them.

He then took a step forward and climbed up the peak of the knoll they were standing on, about to give them a piece of his mind.

Subira immediately trotted up beside him.

"Taka! Sir…?"

Scar picked up her voice and coolly turned around.

"…I have a bone to pick with those _lowlifes_," he spat. Subira's delicate face turned into an expression of displeasure.

"A brilliant way to get your head ripped off." she explained firmly. "That would be an exceedingly foolish way to settle a dispute."

Scar blinked.

Perhaps she had a point.

Subira attempted to smile nicely and strolled up past Scar, clean and prim, and ready o present herself to the trio.

"Wait here."

Subira then turned, making her way over to the bickering trio. The spotted hyenas didn't seem to notice that a lioness was approaching.

"-Way'da go!" the female yowled. "Now we're gonna starve, _numbskull!_"

The idiotic grin on the rather disturbed hyena had vanished. He cocked his head worriedly with his tongue lolling out, his eyes on two different targets.

"_Guh?_" was all that came out of his mouth.

The other male shrunk in, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Aw, come on!" he groaned. "We're never gunna catch a dang thing hiding behind bushes all the time!"

"-It's hard enough to catch _anythin' _out in this danged _sandbox!_" the female loudly shouted.

The dazed-looking hyena began to laugh giddily, finding the female's negativity a bit entertaining.

The male being rebuked shot him a dirty look.

"Shut up."

"Eh he-he-he he!"

"It's _not _funny-"

"-Excuse me!" Subira called to them, coming up to the hyenas. All three snapped their eyes in her direction.

The male that was able to speak then came sauntering up to her casually.

"Hey, lady!" he said. "You wouldn't happen to have any leftovers, would ya?"

Subira pressed a smile, hopelessly rolling her sharp, green eyes.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied. She spoke with a bit of sympathy. "However I _would_ have, if your party hadn't sent the zebra running_._ Which was rather disrespectful for everyone else trying to hunt."

The male shot up a caterpillar brow, confused. The female grinned.

"Wow. Hey, she sounds like your mom," she teased him, playfully smacking the male in the side. The male grunted, then rubbed his hunched shoulder. She and the mental hyena cackled together.

"…You will _leave_ while all twelve of your limbs are still in proper places," Scar spoke up angrily behind Subira.

Everyone drew their attention to him. The female hyena suddenly got choked up in mid-laughter when her eyes settled on Scar. She stopped cackling, trying to grasp her throat with a startled cough.

"_YOU!_" the male yelled out, which was nothing short out of sheer fury.

Scar actually flinched. Even the demented hyena's unfocused eyes got large, and then cocked his head questionably at him.

Scar wasn't even going to ask what his issue was. The mute hyena looked so lost, trying with all power to actually _believe _what he saw. Scar couldn't help but inwardly shrink away from his bright, yellow eyes.

The last time he saw glowing eyes like that…

He couldn't remember.

The female hyena's eyes went half-mast upon Scar.

"…You're _still_ _living…?_" the female hyena dully questioned him.

"Would you happen to know Taka?" Subira asked in gentle curiosity.

"_What?_" the female then squawked, utterly lost. "Taka? Whatsa _Taka?_"

She snapped her glance to the obvious gash over Scar's left eye, honestly making him feel a bit self-conscious.

In the next second, she and her two hyena comrades pinned their eyes shut and burst out cackling in hysteria. She shook her head, fur over her eyes waving.

"_Oh_," she snorted in laughter. "_Sumthin'_ like that…"

The female then took a step closer to Scar, her two pals doing the same.

"Well, I reckon we got new neighbors, gentlemen…!" she said with a dangerous grin.

Scar and Subira then realized the of possible danger they were in. They both began to slightly back away as the hyenas came strolling about in their personal space.

"How 'bout we _greet _them?" the female suggested, a grin forming on her face, revealing her black gums.

"Oh, please," Subira said, beginning to get exhausted with today. "We don't want any trouble."

The female hyena then beamed wickedly.

"Oh, we wouldn't wanna be any _trouble_, ma'am," she said. A little too friendly than necessary.

The female and her friends began to walk around Scar and Subira, surrounding the two lions. The female hyena's grin began smear away, replaced with a dirty scowl. She angrily got slightly closer to Scar's ear like she was exchanging a secret with him.

"…No, we'd never want to be _the enemy_."

Scar lurched back, their eyes meeting. Her words were like ice. He gave her an eyebrow.

What was that supposed to mean?

As the female hyena circled behind him, her dark eyes went wide, feigning worry.

"Whatsa matter, ol' _buddy?_" she asked Scar, trying harder to intimidate him. "Ya look like ya don't even _recognize_ us…"

"-He wouldn't be able to recognize you," Subira answered for her, trying to follow eye contact as the hyenas continued to stroll around them.

Subira spoke softly and calmly.

"He doesn't remember much."

The three hyenas' brows scrunched up in confusion. They peered over at Scar's head, investigating his visible wound... still semi-open and exposed.

All three hyenas then maliciously grinned simultaneously. Like some fun, brilliant idea just came to mind.

"…So, he remembers _nothin'_ huh?" the male said, getting back on topic. He was grinning ear-to-ear with the female hyena.

"Sucks to be _you!_" the female exclaimed in pure delight. "My, that's a nasty little bump you got there, too."

The she-hyena probed around at Scar's open head injury.

Scar was too wary and self-conscious to say anything.

"-I'll bet it _hurt_," the male added, smirking at the female. They appeared to be enjoying this.

"Eh-he he…" the mentally disturbed hyena glared daggers at Scar, drool streaming down his tongue.

Something wasn't right. Scar stayed stationary, standing next to Subira. The suspenseful mind games they were playing with them- especially _him_- were getting annoying.

"You're testing my patience," Scar informed them poshly. "Now I demand you tell me your names."

The female hyena's grin stayed plastered as she circled the two lions. She pulled in her lips and hung her head, sniggering in laughter. Then turned to look at her two friends- about ready to crack up.

"-And the _cute _thing is…" she began, still shaking in sniggers. "…He says it like a _threat!_"

"-BAH HA-HA ha _ha!_"

It was mere child's play to them. They were twirling him around their finger… seeing if they'd get a reaction out of him.

Scar was determined not to show any susceptibility whatsoever. He only got angrier.

Scar moved his glance to the circling female again, which seemed like the group's authoritative figure.

"_What_ are your names?" he said to her, the fur on his pelt raising.

The female hyena purposely stayed silent… smiling smugly between her bangs. Scar kept a stony stare on her. She stared back.

They were all enjoying each sweet- almost _vengeful _second of this torturous game.

The female just smirked at Scar as her answer. She was _ignoring _his question.

"Gee, I sure am _hungry_, you guys…" the female hyena then said- obviously changing the subject. She winked at her male friend. He spread a devious grin.

"…_Yeah!_ I'm not really in the mood for _zebra_ anymore…" the male played along, getting closer to Scar.

"Ooh-hoo-_hoo!_"the demented hyena giggled excitedly, wagging his head. Scar glared ahead, pretending to look furious with the malefactors. Half of it was real. Bu he well knew that these hyenas could attack them at any moment.

Subira wasn't showing any anxiety, either. She just stood stoically next to Scar… standing her ground.

"You will mind your distance," Subira said nonchalantly. Scar took a look at her.

This composure for her was too resolute to be forged. Subira spoke again.

"…All I want is to feed my family."

"…An' you wouldn't be tryin to weasel your way out of this by flashing a pity card, would ya?" the female hyena snapped right back.

"-Your _name_, Madame?" Scar interrupted. For the _third _time.

The male hyena smirked, looking over at his female friend.

"Hey, ya know what they say about high-class food, right?" he inquired her, also ignoring Scar's attempts to leak information out of them.

The female hyena grinned along, eyeing Scar and Subira.

"Hmm, I dunno. What?"

"…It always tastes better with age!" the male finished.

"BWA-ha ha-ha!" the crazed hyena cackled even harder, laughing at the joke with his other two pals.

Scar flicked his tail… a telltale sign showing that a feline was aggravated. He truly felt like this was a waste of time.

"You're all wasting my breath!" Scar snarled- the cackling coming to a sudden end. "Answer my _blasted_ question!"

In that instant- the female bared her fangs and snapped her jaws at Scar's ankle- and he jerked it backwards. It just missed his flesh by an inch.

He and Subira immediately took advantage of the situation and dashed the other way through their opening- finally free from the hyena barricade.

The female hyena snarled angrily, gritting her white, razor-like teeth together.

"HEY!" she screamed after them.

But Scar and Subira were already far off across the plain… and didn't even dare to look back. The male hyena began to lunge forward to pursue them, but the female stuck out her foreleg, telling him to halt.

"Forget it," she told him flatly. "…They ain't _worth_ a chase."

The male stepped back submissively, then slowly baring his teeth after the sprinting lions. Their fun was over.

The hyenas then turned away. They all decided that they had nothing better to do than to just leave the field.


	13. The Eighth Commandment

She sat.

The sky was losing it's clean, azure hue. It began to melt into a golden bronze color. The sun sank slowly behind the line of the flat horizon. The amber sunlight befell the sharp angles of her face, and her blood stained eyes stared back at it, unfazed by the hot, glowing brightness. Any other being would have looked away or blinked uncomfortably. But the lioness was too absorbed in her thoughts to bother… and too pensive to care.

Large billows of clouds started to roll past the sun. They drifted along nonchalantly, blowing a quiet breathe of wind throughout the barren landscape Zira was staring at.

The lioness was motionless. Her posture displayed authority and confidence. She had been sitting here for a quite a while, now.

Her plan may have needed more time than she initially thought. Those mindless imbeciles- those _jackals_- weren't doing so great of a job. Their mission was not that difficult. They had only managed to get a handful lionesses on her side.

Zira furrowed her black eyebrows in anger and disapproval, and pressed down harder on her jaws.

If they messed this up… their scraggily hides would be made into charming little throw rugs.

Siri and Aina, the new trainees Mauti and Faraa had rounded up, were already learning the basic skills needed to defend themselves for what was to come. They usually stayed quiet, and did whatever Zira asked them to do. They never asked questions. They never inquired about the reward that was promised after their fight with the Pride Landers. Which were the exact traits Zira wanted in her new set of lionesses.

This time, her army would not betray her. She would work twice as hard as last time.

No. No, _ten_ times harder.

That humiliating fiasco was not going to happen again. If Zira had to _pummel _the proper motives for avenging her beloved into her new recruits… then so be it.

She would make sure that every move, every intention, and every thought and notion that entered into their heads, was implanted for the correct motive: for _him_. Only for him… and not out some concern for their own safety if they stepped out of line. Not for their own selfish avengement against the Pride Lands for their exile.

For Scar.

It was embarrassing to see her followers- even some of her former friends, just turn away. Her own children betrayed her. Her own flesh and blood. They turned their noses on her, and departed from her side. They sided next to Simba. Next to… that _murderer_.

Suddenly, something pinched in the back of Zira's eye sockets. She was caught off guard. Zira quickly closed them and pulled in her lips to fight it off, but her throat grew too tight and swelled with hurt.

The pain was still there. It was such a long time ago, but the pain was still lingering inside her and refused to depart. He was gone… and he was never coming back. It was torture merely thinking about it.

A small pool of tears gathered inside Zira's lids. She grew irritated and clamped her eyes shut. She was thankful no one was around to see her like this.

Oh, if only he were here. If only she could see him just one last time, she would tell him how much he meant to her. How much he had changed her life as a whole.

Zira took a calm inhale and brought herself together. She closed her eyes and sat up straighter… respiring one word over and over to herself, and coated it each time with sweet adoration.

"_Scar…_"

* * *

The sun was setting in the desert. The lower it got, the more vivid and enthusiastic the colors in the firmament became. The turquoise sky had made the metamorphic change from a bright, sparkling luster, to a hazy shade of deep bronze. It glazed all over land and sky. The passionate heat from the sun was quickly dissipating, and the cold chill of night was beginning to set in. The animals that lived out here took note, and headed to their self-proclaimed homes for the night. Others were only just beginning their night, rousing up from a long day of sleep. They took the descending sun as an indicator that it was time to start prowling around the barren wilderness to hunt.

None of these coming signs eased the anxiety of the lion family back at the camp. Subira and Scar had been gone for quite a long time. Since the mid-day.

Grandfather Lion had been watching his two grandchildren play since the afternoon. Hamu had been frolicking around for most of the day. Thamani even took a few hours to join in, but the usual generous amount of energy Hamu possessed was wearing thin at this point. He had recently found himself a grasshopper in some tall grass to pounce after, while his sister just sat around, lazily eyeing the area for her mother... or their guest, Taka. She, too, knew the dangers that lurked about after dark in the desert, and was beginning to share just a tiny bit of her grandfather's worry. It showed on her face- _significantly _a lot more noticeable than earlier this afternoon. It was getting extremely late.

What if something bad had happened? Mother was usually back from her hunt an hour or two after she left. Perhaps there was a good reason. She would never have them all needlessly worry for her if it weren't for a good reason. Maybe they had gotten lost… or Taka needed some aid with that head injury of his.

She gave way to a sigh. Then turned her head to look at her grandfather. He was patiently watching the horizon where the sun and sky met. A handful of early stars were coming out, with still ample more to come out. But he wasn't watching the sunset. He was thinking about his daughter.

Grandfather Lion took in a deep breath and began to move. He stood up on all fours and returned the apprehensive look his granddaughter was wearing back to her.

"Oh, to heck with it," he said. "I'm going out to find them."

The moment the words had left this mouth, there came a rustling sound from the nearby grass… and voices. Hamu had stopped pouncing after the little grasshopper and froze in place. His ears lifted up with interest at the noise.

"Whazzat?" he then said.

Subira and Scar had reached the end of the thicket of tall grass, returning to their home out in the middle of the dry land. They also reached the end of their conversation once the grasses closed behind them like drapery.

Grandfather Lion rose in an instant. Subira and Scar lifted their heads.

"Well, it's about time you came back, poppet!" he practically called out.

Hamu emitted a big smile.

"Mom!" he cried out.

Subira's brief look of concern had disappeared. It had fallen off her face, and turned into quite a calm, relaxed expression. Scar, however, just looked at her rather cross father.

He did not want to be involved.

Scar shimmied a few steps away from Subira rather gingerly for her to handle the situation.

"Ye had me worried, darling," Grandfather Lion announced. He jumped off the small rock platform he sat upon. He then glanced up at Subira. "Is everythin' alright?"

"Father, please… it's alright, now," Subira told him, "I know it was a long time. We had a rather unfortunate drawback."

"We were startin' to think something' _happened _to ye…" Grandfather Lion said. The concern in his voice had left by now, and was replaced with a more casual tone. However, in this state of slight confusion, no one had noticed that a third, delicate voice spoke up from behind everyone… and he had made a silent observation that his mother was empty-handed.

"…Where's the food?" Hamu said softly.

Subira turned to look in his direction.

It was a completely innocent question. However, this made the entire family fall uneasily silent. Thamani sat and watched her uncommunicative mother… and Scar could tell she was wondering the same thing. However, she was older and wiser… and she had a feeling she knew _why _there was no food.

Subira took a breath… finding words. Even Scar hoisted an eyebrow, curious about what she was going to say about this. A mother… trying her best not to infuse undue panic into her offspring. It was sort of encouraging to watch, to see her take this much care and consideration into other people's welfare.

All she did was move her mouth into a warm smile… hoping it was enough to alleviate their distresses.

"Don't worry," Subira said.

This, of course, had a visible, almost opposite effect on her listeners. It was completely understandable what the circumstances were, now. It grew silent, and the group's expressions of hope wilted.

"There will be food soon, and hopefully in the morning, things will turn up," Subira told them.

Hamu did not look like he was very concerned, but still wanted to know more about what was going on. However, older individuals such as Grandfather Lion and Thamani appeared disheartened. Subira, however… tried her best to keep their spirits at a higher level.

"Now…" she added with a bit of flair in her voice, standing proud and tall. She gave them all a smile. "…Everybody tidy up, and… prepare for a good night's sleep. Understood?"

Thamani suspired a long sigh. It made off with the final, passing winds rolling through the savanna. She looked at the sun one last time, and then came off of the rock she was sitting on, and as she did so, the group began to part ways.

Scar's eyes went down.

The ideal family he once saw in his first few nights here were having a very difficult time hiding their dire need for simple necessities. They were impoverished… and Scar knew whatever situation they were going to go through, he was going to have to go through it as well. He was involved now.

The sun bid its last, farewell rays across the desert border, just beginning to slip behind the horizon for the night. It left behind a mass flood of color, bleeding inside the network of clouds overhead. Scar watched them drift momentarily. A few more stars had come out from hiding, and seared through the hot, murky air that caked the desert.

Scar then began to turn around, dropping his gaze… but he stopped. Subira was still standing there, looking off into the direction her family had wandered off into. She then let her eyes fall to view the sand in front of her paws.

But she gently lifted her head back up, turning to Scar. She looked like she had just realized he was there.

She smiled, and then headed onward towards, leaving Scar there. She sauntered into thicket with the rest of her family.

* * *

It was a dark night. A cold night. The vast ocean of sand usually emitted a soft, blue color in the silver moonlight whenever darkness fell. Tonight, it was masked over by a thick, black cloak. The Sahara… had a certain mysterious, eeriness this evening.

The desert was completely silent. Either everything was asleep, or everything did not want to make any noise tonight, out of fear what might be out in the empty wilderness to hear it. Even the crickets did not make their usual, symphonic calls to each other.

Throughout the hour, Scar had picked up occasional, faint, high-pitched howling from miles away. He rested with his chin on his paws, occasionally listening to it. The long, stretched out cries sounded like they belonged to a carnivorous canine. This didn't ease his mind of what else probably lived out here… especially after the events today. From now on, he would have to be more careful with crossing paths with other animals.

Scar then exhaled quietly out his nose, and slightly shifted his head. He closed his eyes and made a more earnest effort to try and drift off to sleep.

His eyes were shut, but it was hard to ignore the longing, twisting feeling in his stomach. It was persistent and sharp. It had been much easier to fall asleep the night prior to this. At least he had eaten.

Scar silently opened his eyes again, exposing his green irises. This wasn't anybody's fault, really. He knew why he wasn't able to eat anything tonight, and his wrenching hunger was a petty thing compared to everyone else's he was residing with. Somebody like Subira's elderly father… or Hamu earned greater concern. He could imagine that Hamu must be having a more difficult time trying to fall asleep than he was.

Scar wanted a peaceful night's sleep. He tried again to let go off any more disquieting thoughts, and respired calmly to help him. As his eyelids slipped closed, something else interrupted his thoughts once again.

A faint odor met with him. It was stark and hearty.

Scar opened his eyes. The wide savanna had an abundance of different scents, all from different sources, but this was one was biting and robust. He didn't want to think it, but it almost smelled like…

No.

Now he was just picking up arbitrary scents, no thanks to the enticing thoughts he was just having earlier.

It was a dim aroma, but it was sharp enough, and distinctive enough for Scar to pick up. It was coming from not too far away, either. It wasn't imaginary… this was a real, existing scent.

Scar's head gently came up. There was no mistaking it. That was definitely meat he picking up. But _where _was it coming from?

It rolled along with the soft, evening breezes coming over the desert. It was too fresh and attractive in scent to ignore. It would be nothing less than impossible to try and go back to sleep, now. It was going to keep Scar awake for the rest of the night.

It was probably some poor, unfortunate animal who fell prey to a lurking predator out here. But if that was the case, that would mean that the source of the smell would be lying out in the open... with nobody to watch it.

To investigate could be somewhat dangerous. He was out here in the Sahara by himself… a reasonable distance away from the family back at the camp. But there was absolutely no effective way of ignoring that scent.

Scar looked over to his side… wary that perhaps somebody knew what he was thinking. It was a tempting idea. He wouldn't be gone long… since he certainly didn't want to wander around the Sahara at night in his memory-impaired, injured state. The desert itself was enough to frighten anybody who wasn't careful.

Besides… the family he was residing with was practically starving.

Scar slowly rose on all four feet. This probably wasn't a good idea, and he knew it. He would have to be very quick, and very careful… all to just quell his curiosity.

The old lion began to follow the trail of the scent, keeping reasonably low to the ground. The cool, dark sand stifled the steps in his walk. He couldn't see very well where he was going… and only had his nose to guide him. He made not a sound, and headed off into the wilderness.

* * *

There was sort of an inexplicable beauty about the desert that Scar had noticed in his first few nights lodging here. He walked along the sloping gradient, his shadow outstretched and distorted along the dune. The sand beneath his paws looked like blue powder, and it was refreshing and cool to walk on. Scar was alone now with the Sahara, where he could make a greater note of it.

The sky was a vibrant indigo, revealing the mass collection of stars it held, all glittering in such a magnificent display, it was enough to earn the deepest respect from any lowly creature walking below it. This place was breathtakingly exotic and mysterious.

However, it was also freezing out here.

Scar did well to hurry his walk and make this journey as quick as possible… for the frigid air was beginning to nip at him, and he did not like being out here alone. Beautiful as this place was, it was also just a little eerie. It was just the way his surroundings made the absolute refusal to move even momentarily in the wind, the aberrant tranquility and silence around him. Everything sat there in a rather intimidating manner. It all looked frozen inside a timeless, ancient landscape.

It was too surreal. It wasn't too late just to turn around and leave.

The scent Scar was picking up was getting stronger. It was lingering inside the grove of palm trees he was aimlessly walking through. They were tall, stocky things, awkwardly sprouting up from the bare sand.

Scar looked around. The scent was here. It was definitely here, but he could not determine the location of where it was coming from. It was as intense and raw as ever. The shrubbery around him was practically secreting the fleshly aroma. It had to be here.

Then he heard a noise.

In a heartbeat, Scar's ears pricked up. His environment grew silent once again. Scar immediately squinted in the dark and took a quick look around him to find the source.

The noise came about again.

It sounded like faint rustling… and Scar almost saw a small bush ahead of him quiver a bit. He was not alone.

Scar almost thought about leaving… he might have been trespassing on another animal's territory for all he knew.

But that smell…

The only way he could go about doing this without getting caught was quietly. Scar then made his way over to the shrub… minding his footing not to make any noise. The sand helped him a lot in that department. Once he got to the bush, he carefully stepped up to it to look through it.

He was somewhat relieved to find that what he saw was not as intimidating as he expected it to be. An African wild dog was on the other side, dragging along the ground the origin of the smell. He had captured a generous portion of meat, and by the markings on the animal's dismembered limb, it looked like a zebra leg and thigh. The wild dog looked like he was quite pleased with himself and out of breath. He pitter-pattered along the ground, letting the zebra carcass glide across the ground with him. That chunk of meat was too big and too heavy for him to lift correctly… but he looked determined to transfer it someplace.

The wild dog then stopped in front of a small den, then dropped the meat from out of his mouth. Scar continued to observe quietly.

The dog then glanced around, curious of anyone watching him. Scar knew if he saw him, he would be quite angry. He sunk his head lower within the other side of the bush on slight impulse.

The African dog then began to dig. He carelessly tossed the grit and grain underneath his stomach in a sort of rhythm. However, the ditch he was digging continuously filled up again with the light sand around his paws, leaving him to start over.

This caught the wild dog's attention. He stared at the ground before him. He then moved his tiny paws again, attempting to scrape out the excess sand from inside his hole. But it filled back up again.

His head cocked a little.

The African wild dog eventually shrugged, and left the hole as is. He spun back around and seized the slab of meat beside him, plopping it over the half-dug hole.

Scar watched him scurry around the other side of the hole, and gave a few final flicks of sand over the meat with his hind legs.

The African wild dog then did not stay any longer. He quickly glanced up, minding his surroundings. Scar automatically sunk his head lower again, but the wild dog did not see him. He then pranced off into a nearby bush, leaves rustling wildly. He left the meat behind him... and he was gone.

Scar looked back at the zebra leg. It just sat there idly… bleeding up a hot, inviting aroma. It was still edible, although it was covered in some sand. It looked freshly caught, too.

Scar grimaced to himself as though pained, turning his head away momentarily.

It was a wrong thing to do. He should just walk away right now. But he couldn't help but think about how much his stomach was nearly pleading with him to do something about his hunger pangs.

And Scar wasn't the only one who needed food… Subira's family back at the campsite needed it more than that dog who caught it did.

He and Subira were a little unfortunate earlier this afternoon while on the hunt. Those hyenas had chased off that herd of zebra that they so rightfully deserved. But there was a hot meal sitting right here, ready to be devoured.

Would he not be doing a good thing?

The stinging cold got to Scar again. He blinked and waved his head, as if he was able to shake it off, but he couldn't. He just wanted to leave and go back his resting place to sleep.

That wild dog might very well come back. Scar could get caught in the act, and _then _he would have some explaining to do. But he was such a tiny, measly fellow. That wild dog certainly did not need _all _that food to sustain him. He could… and would be fine without it. It's not like it would kill him.

Scar turned to look over his shoulder, inspecting his surroundings. No one was around to watch him.

He stepped over the shrubbery line that separated himself from the zebra carcass. The leaves on the bush crinkled loudly behind Scar. He didn't care so much about being quiet anymore, and focused more on getting out of there as fast as feasibly possibly.

Scar ran over to the burrow and bit down on the zebra ankle. As he lifted it up… he realized it was a little heavier than he initially thought, so he clenched his teeth a little harder around the bone.

The taste of the animal flesh seeped into his mouth. It was so warm and gratifying… he almost had no regrets.

The second he had a firm grip on it, Scar immediately whirled around and leapt through the bush he had entered, taking off.

* * *

It had somehow gotten a little bit more quiet during Scar's walk back to the camp, if he could think that was at all possible. The moon… the dry, dead trees… all of them were staring back at him a little while longer, almost making an observatory glare at what he had just done.

Scar ignored it and carried on.

The meat he had been dragging along the ground beside him would occasionally snag along a small twig or backside of a rock. Carrying it was beginning to be a burden. Scar would always have to take a brief pause in between his walk every single time it got too heavy for him again, and yank harder on the leg of meat until it would come undone… and then he would continue to trudge casually along into the night.

When he got towards the campsite, Scar thought he had heard another noise. He began to slow the pace of his walk, slightly stiffening up.

The lion tuned in his ears and listened any distinctive pacing. That African wild dog might very well be looking for his dinner.

A couple more twigs shifted and snapped, each one a little closer to Scar than the one prior… it sounded like somebody was walking straight towards him.

Scar narrowed his eyes, searching straight ahead for any sign of movement, but saw none. It was too dark, and too obscure to make anything out. All he could do was stand quietly… hopefully blending in with the dark shroud of night. He waited patiently for another audible clue from out of the dark… and then, almost all too suddenly...

"…What are you doing?"

"-_Gaagh!_"

Scar nearly jumped out of his hide in a short convulsion of terror, and almost dropped the meat that was dangling from his mouth. But it was dark, and nobody could really see how frightened he had just gotten. A dark being stood before him, slinking a little closer. Once Scar had regained a normal heartbeat, he could clearly see who it was once it stepped out in the open.

Subira.

Scar's face dropped, relieved. At least it wasn't the African wild dog… or worse, considering the other animals he had come across earlier today.

This was awkward. Scar this time deliberately dropped the slab of meat from his mouth. It hit the ground with a thud. He inhaled to speak and acknowledge her.

"…Madame..."

She took a few chary steps forward, her dark, gold coat gleaming blue as she stepped out into clearer light.

"Sir, what are you doing out here in the dark?" Subira queried him.

"Well, what are _you _doing out here?" Scar asked her right back, a smidge irritated.

Subira's face remained placid. She calmly opened her mouth.

"I was coming back from a cosmic study. Now, let's go back to you," she said. "What were you doing out here?"

Scar stood. His eyes then shot down to the slab of meat sitting stupidly down at his side.

He quickly tried to whip up a sufficing answer.

"Ahh…" he began to say. But it was no use. Subira's eyes began to wander, and they starting to show a keen interest in exactly just what Scar had by his side.

His eyes followed hers… and they eventually landed on the mysterious mound of zebra meat next to him.

She was wondering where it came from. Scar knew it. The only thing he could think of to do next, was pull a fast one and pretend he had never seen it before in his life. His mouth a fell ajar and he played up a nice, shocked face.

"My goodness!" he said. "I wonder how that got there…?"

Subira's mouth contorted in a funny way, as if she was confused. It looked like she _understood _the humor in his ploy… but did not find it funny.

But then she looked at the large pile of meat one more time. She then issued a small smile, pleased to see the sight of food since the hunt.

"Why, did you catch that all by yourself, sir?" she asked, eyeing the zebra.

The tone of her voice signaled that she would be quite proud of him if Scar then made the confirmation that he did…

…But unfortunately, he did _not_.

The playful grin on Scar's face began to break apart. He stood there, now feeling just a small dose of guilt. He shifted his body weight and cleared his throat, taking her inquisitions a little more seriously.

"Well…" he began with mounting uncertainty.

Subira's eyebrows then came together… puzzled on why he looked so uncomfortable. Scar really had no other options. He was caught in the act.

The old lion heaved a sigh, looking quite disappointed with himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but did not look back at her.

"No," he said.

It was a plain and simple answer. He bit his mouth, waiting on her reaction… stealing a glance upward. He felt like a cub… admitting something to a mother-figure he was oblivious to once having. Subira's inspecting eyes then softened to clemency. All of the sudden she knew. The way he had just said it. If Scar had not caught the zebra himself, then there was only one other way he could have obtained that meat.

The lioness exhaled… showing a small, visible sign of discontentment. She was disappointed… and Scar knew it just by looking at the entirety of her face. It almost looked like it hurt her.

She began to step forward.

Scar moved out of the way. She strolled on over to the zebra leg, and gently bent over to pick it up.

"Come on," she said. The dismembered animal limb dangled delicately in her teeth. She lifted it up casually, turning around the other way.

"…Tell me where you found it."

Scar unhappily rolled his eyes to himself. Apparently, they would _still _not be eating tonight.

He slowly turned and led her the opposite way back into the thicket.

* * *

The two lions returned the slab of meat to the African wild dog. He had returned to his digging place, and had wondered where his meat had gone. Subira explained to him what had happened, and apologized for what Scar had done. He didn't seem upset at all. He actually found it quite heart-warming that two hungry lions actually wanted to return the meat to him.

"…Hey, don't worry about it," the wild dog told them. "It's not everyday somebody out here does something good."

He explained to them that the large portion of meat wasn't necessarily all for him. He and his mate lived inside the den out in front of the burrow he had dug, and he was saving the zebra meat for her later. She was expecting pups, and needed the proper nourishment.

Scar felt even worse after he was done telling his story. Once he was finished, his mate quietly came out of their den to see who the two lions were outside their home. She was a fragile little thing… with brown spots speckled all over her pelt. The male wild dog repeated the story to her of what Scar and Subira had done, and his mate was very glad with their kind gesture. She then insisted that they at least take some of the meat as a token of gratitude. Subira, however, declined and thanked them anyway.

They then departed from the African wild dogs, and headed back towards the campsite. As they walked alone in the dark, neither Scar nor Subira said a word. They walked side-by-side. The breeze gently wafted the sand, rolling over the dunes the two lions made their way across.

Scar had expected Subira to get angry with him. Or even just rebuke him for what he did… but his actions provoked neither from Subira. Instead, she was hurt and disappointed. The way she kept so stoic and calm while they walked back to the camp almost bothered Scar. He wanted her to say something… _anything_.

His green eyes then slunk over in her direction.

Subira continued to press onward… walking in a fine, dignified line. She kept to herself. It was a little discomforting... Scar did not know what she was thinking.

He decided to clear his throat and initiate a conversation.

"…Are you cross with me?"

Subira remained silent. Her head was rather high, and she strolled along, gracefully composed.

"No," she told him.

Just plain no.

Scar's eyes came away.

This prolonged silence was almost painfully uncomfortable. He felt bad enough as it was. Was it really necessary to make it worse by treating him this way?

Scar then scowled to himself. He was a little confused. He would almost _rather _have her be mad with him than give him this kind of… behavior. It looked like she cared about what he did. _Really _cared.

They continued to walk. The desert wasn't as spooky as it was earlier. It was calm… and everything felt very safe, now. The moon was glowing a crystal-diamond white… serving as a light to guide them back to their abode. Scar did not remember traveling out this far. Why was the walk back taking so long?

Once the two lions had arrived at the base of their campsite, Subira eventually stop in front of another thicket of palm trees.

Her back faced Scar. It looked like she was pondering to herself.

She then turned and faced Scar without much expression.

"Tomorrow I wish to talk to you," she said suddenly. "Privately."

Scar blinked once she said this. He uneasily stared back at her.

Her eyes looked like she meant it.

Subira finally turned away from him… and headed back into the thicket where the rest of her family was sleeping. She slipped away into the dark.

Scar stood there absentmindedly… alone… in the middle of the Sahara.

This lady had a way of coaxing respect out of her onlookers. This was the rebuking part Scar had been waiting for. A talk.

Great.

It was probably going to be a long, drawn out lecture about tonight.

The old lion issued a long exhale, titling his head backwards to look up at the desert sky. But the only thing he saw was an immense, cosmic array of stars, just staring back at him. The night sky that held them all looked like the surface of an abyss. Flat, black, water... without a single breath of wind to disturb it.

Scar didn't understand. He thought what he had done wasn't that big of a deal. He thought this could be a way to help out.

Apparently not.


	14. Lesson Number One

_Hidden Mickey alert! I know what you're thinking: "Lesson Number One?!" Oh my gosh, is that a **Mulan II** reference?! 8O_

_Hehehe… maaaybe… :) Some of the things Mulan says before the song starts would even be appropriate for this chapter.  
This is a turning point in the story. Now enjoy. And please review!_

* * *

He was not conscious, and could not make out where he was. Although, a sort of sick feeling came over him. As if at any given moment, the very essence of true evil would make an appearance. A single breath of foreboding premonition.

It was grimy and dusty... and frankly, a little dark. The dust in the air was not moving… but slowly passing through his mind. It took a long time for the stage to be set. But after a few minutes of dark, uneasy sleep… a rocky valley slowly morphed before him. And everything unfolded inside the sinister haze.

Hooves… millions of them… ripping and roaring along the ground. They belonged to a restless sea of frightened animals.

"_DAD!_"

It was like he was in the midst of a rolling, rollicking thunderstorm. The hooves intensified. Over and over, and it wouldn't stop. The steady rumble flooded his ears, continuing to pound into the rock hard ground without a single break in the silence.

The scene was too muddled to make out what was going on… or why he was being shown this in the first place. But something serious was about to happen.

The rush of animals was now so irritatingly noisy, it began to agitate his head... provoking a sensitive, dark part within it: his memory.

And then laughter broke out. Malicious, posh laughter.

That voice again…

It had deliberately followed him. _Found _him—once again.

But there was also another voice that had found him; which was so horrendously familiar to Scar, it suddenly started him because he almost _recognized _it. It shred through the air and sung one note.

"_NNOOOOOOOOOOO!_"

All too abruptly it ended. Scar woke up with a single twitch, and the entire scene ceased presentation.

His eyes came open. He was on his side with his head on a hard floor. After a moment, he looked around, keen on absorbing the details of where he was. A slanted view of a wide cave entrance stared back at him… the same one he fell asleep in last night.

Scar blinked—suddenly calm when he remembered this.

It was morning again. His body was exposed in the daylight shining through the mouth of the cave. The morning around him held a sheer… resolute silence… save for the birds gently cheeping outside. It was a source of natural comfort.

Scar just laid there, feeling his heart pulse decline. The skin underneath his pelt was dampened with sweat. It was a cold, and uncomfortable contrast to the fresh air.

This was the second time he had to undergo yet another venture inside his subconscious. The thundering hooves, the gorge. It could have all just been a coincidence. Remembering nothing since his head injury was bad enough… but this game of trying to guess _why _he was having these dreams, was bordering on annoying.

The resting lion then opened his eyes, for he heard two voices conversing nearby. They were bright and youthful, coming from outside the cave. Scar confirmed in his head that they were the children's. They must've been up already.

They sounded more animated than usual.

Scar took in a concentrated inhale… bracing himself to get up. His back had been noticeably getting a little sore with each morning he woke up.

He propped up his forelegs and stood… extending his forepaws out in front of him to stretch out his slender shoulders. The lingering anxiety he still felt battering in his chest was beginning to go away. Everything was fine, and he had woken up to another morning.

Scar then began to saunter through the gaping hole in the cave, and into the sunlight from outside.

It was as though the sun had then dropped a few pounds of itself on Scar, and he squinted involuntarily at the sudden spurt of light. The first thing he saw were the typical, faraway sand dunes sitting on top of the horizon. They outlined the broad, semi-spherical sky. The air had gotten significantly thinner and more stifling as he came out into the sun. Once he stepped outside, a few voices he heard stopped talking.

Scar looked up… and a few heads turned in his direction. Grandfather Lion, Thamani, and Hamu were all up… and appeared to be previously enjoying a conversation as they sat around each other. But something sat in the middle of their huddle.

What Scar saw in front of them made him blink hard, and scrutinize it with incredulity, deciding whether or not what he saw was physically possible.

In front of them, was a rather generously sized portion of animal carcass. It was cut wide open, from throat to navel. All of it's organs were still shiny, and nuzzled inside it's partially exposed white rib cage. The animal bled profusely... dark, heavy juices.

Once everyone saw Scar, Hamu suddenly flashed a big, bright smile at him.

"…Mister Lion Sir!"

Hamu then ceased all previous activity to turn around on his bottom, and hurry on over to the lion.

Scar almost didn't notice Hamu running over to him. He was still fixated on the stack meat. It looked fresh. How in the world did they get it?

Hamu padded his way up to Scar's forelegs—then stopped suddenly. Scar then quickly lifted his head at Hamu, as though he feared his inspection was regarded as rude. Hamu smiled.

"We were wondering when you'd get up…!" he said. The boy then contemplatively cocked his head with interest, gazing up at him.

"Do you like Thompson's gazelle…?"

At least he was amiable. But it was still a little too early for Scar to communicate willingly. Scar moved his mouth again, trying out an affable smile.

"…I… should _think _so…" he said.

"Oh okay, good. Then you'll like mom's catch. She brought us breakfast while you were sleeping."

Scar elevated his eyebrows, eyeing the child with a certain, content solace. This was good news. The last time he remembered he had eaten was almost two days ago. Now he didn't have to keep worrying about keeling over.

"Oh, speaking of that!" Grandfather Lion said behind Hamu. He straightened himself out and pulled his nose away from his meal. "My daughter said that she wanted to have a word with you this morning. She left a little while ago."

That reminder had then just crossed Scar's mind. Whatever she wanted to talk about, it couldn't be good.

Scar pressed down on his teeth, expressing a certain unwillingness.

"Any idea where she went?" he said.

Grandfather Lion turned away and examined his meal.

"She told me to tell you to meet her by the watering hole a little ways away—er… _that_ way," he said, nodding off towards a northeast plain. "George Scott's Whiskers! There's still _digestion _in this!"

Scar dropped his eyelids a little, glancing at the sandy soil by his paws. He knew this was all about the night prior. Thamani saw his eyes fall, and curiously leaned a little further to her side to investigate.

"Don't worry," she said. "You can have some meat by the time you're done."

Scar looked up, devoid of an expression. He flicked his mouth to try to smile, telling her he valued her reassurance. He then side-stepped away from Hamu who was still sitting in front of him. The boy wrenched his head in his direction after his departure, and watched Scar head northeast.

* * *

It was a long walk. Or, at least, it felt that way with how long it was took to get there. Scar wasn't even sure if he was going in the right direction towards the specified spot Subira wanted to meet him at. But finally, there was indeed a small body of water out here in the semi-desert lands. Scar hadn't noticed it when they first settled here amongst the Sahara. It must've been where all the palm trees around here were finding their sustenance, for they were all huddled around each other, hanging over a small, modest waterhole, providing shade for other animals out of the brutal sun.

A few bright, casual calls between birds in the trees sung out nearby. Scar prodded his way onward, keeping silently to himself. He kept his unhurried meander. He wasn't exactly all too thrilled coming here. Whatever reason why, couldn't be good.

Scar then lifted his head from the parched, dry soil and looked up. He slowed his gait and stopped to stare ahead.

And then he saw her. Subira sat with her back to him, facing the small pool of blue, glittering water. She was waiting patiently, her tail brushing the surface of the ground back and forth behind her. She did not slouch in the least with her posture.

Scar still had no idea if she was mad with him or not. Even though she said she wasn't. Her demeanor alone was enough to elicit a healthy fear, or even a kind of reverence, like a small child would for their parent. But Scar unfortunately realized that he was here.

And she was not simply going to sit there all day.

Scar drew in a small breath, a little apprehensive of events soon to take place. He began to amble forward through the stiff grass, sliding on a casual, good-humored smirk.

He decided the least he could do was attempt to lighten the mood.

"_Good morning_," he said out loud, smile in tact. He hoped she still retained at least _some _pleasantness to help soften the blow of the slap on wrist he was about to get.

Subira turned her head to the side. It was a sudden twist in her neck, eyeing the ground beside her… but acknowledging Scar's voice. She did not move, but now she knew he was there.

Scar slowed his pace as he approached her, a little cautious. He now didn't know if it was a good idea to make light of the matter.

"It's… auh… a beautiful morning, isn't it?" he pressed on, walking slower.

Subira said nothing. Her expression was unreadable. It was not angry. It was not happy. It was just… well…

Blank.

She then casually returned her glance back out to the rippling pool in front of her.

Scar then hesitated if he should walk any further. He contorted his face into a silent, discomforting wince. Now he was _certainly _unsure of what she was thinking.

He decided to drop the act. It was getting him nowhere.

Scar then quietly sighed behind her, his hopeless eyes dropping towards the ground once more.

He continued to walk, and had now reached the shade of the tree Subira was sitting underneath. Rays of sunlight pierced through the tree branches above their heads, lighting up their faces in arbitrary areas. Scar idly slunk over to her side.

He took a seat himself… and sat next to her. Scar stared blearily at the ground with his eyes at half-mast.

He didn't dare exhibit the gall to look at her.

"You…" he began dispassionately. "…Wanted to speak with me?"

Moments passed. Subira calmly inhaled the morning air, making her look a little taller. She looked like she was thinking of what to say. Finally, after she exhaled and narrowed her eyes out onto the small lake… her voice broke through.

"…What exactly were you thinking last night, Taka?"

It was such an inevitable question. Yet, Scar had not thought about the answer. He heaved both of his eyes upward towards the crystal firmament, wondering why this was such a monumental issue.

"Well I…" he began. Actually, he didn't know _what_ he was thinking the night prior, and didn't know how to answer accordingly.

He paused… still keeping his eyes glued to the blades of grass poking up from the ground. Scar then gave an earnestly lost, shake of his head and decided to disclose the truth.

"…I thought I could've… done your family a favor, Madame," he said.

Subira gently blinked after Scar said this, and slightly moved her head in his direction.

"…That was not a favor, Taka," she said. "No circumstance ever justifies stealing. I'm very disappointed with what you did."

Her last words rang a certain familiarity in Scar's head. They were so blatantly simple, but Scar felt like they had previously belonged to somebody else before her. Somebody of authority… of power. And they weighed a lot.

He decided to let her words linger around in their company for awhile… since Scar couldn't think of anything much else to say… and he tried to remain as relatively impassive as possible. His glance fluctuated between bits of grass for a few moments. Scar then finally closed his eyes submissively, and exhaled an almost frustrated sigh.

"Alright," he replied simply.

Subira still hadn't moved. Her eyes were too fixated across the twinkling waterhole in front of them. Her closed mouth shifted a little, though… contemplating something as she was deep in thought. Scar observed furtively. She still hadn't made eye contact with him.

Why was this such a big deal? Why was this so important to her? He thought he had been doing a good thing by taking that meat. Subira's family certainly needed it more than that dog did, and the lioness beside him seemed very condemning of his attempts to help. Her family even seemed to be encouraging it, too.

The prolonged silence between the two of them was getting a little more uncomfortable than necessary. After a few more moments, Subira slightly and nonchalantly tilted her head, as though she were finally content with her choice of words.

"…I'm also somewhat concerned about your conduct," she said.

For the first time in several minutes, Scar lifted his head and made eye contact with Subira. Her words caught him a little off guard.

Subira finally pulled her eyes off the waterhole, and they settled further down into the ground.

"I'm getting the faint idea that you may not have been raised with… or taught… proper moral values."

Scar stared at her uneasily—and didn't bat an eyelid.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"I mean you may be confused about the difference between right and wrong," Subira told him. "If you don't have a clue as to who you are, and you tell us you're having dark, morbid nightmares about certain aspects about your life… this tells me you didn't have the most… _extraorin'ry_ life beforehand. Not to mention a trio of hyenas yesterday were able to recognize you during the hunt."

Subira hoisted her thin, black brows skyward. "How or why? I don't know how or why… and frankly, it's not a good thing."

Scar just continued to look at her. She carried a point. Hyenas were notorious for being slobbering, mangy savages… and any animal who associated with such ones did not have an honorable reputation.

Scar concurred with this. He rolled his eyes and gave a small, beaten nod, showing that he did.

"…Hence…" Subira slowly started again, her glance following the sky upward in order to complete her sentence. "…As of now… I am going to teach you… and make sure you get a proper education about…"

She crinkled her nose a little to think and find the right word.

"…_Virtue_."

Old Scar, who was still sitting beside her couldn't help but gawp at her. This was unanticipated information. If she was that discontent with his behavior, she could have just told him leave. It would have been the practical solution.

Scar moved his eyebrows a little closer together.

"Why?" he said.

"I will not have such corrupted teachings in my family," she said. "Nobody is to know about last night."

Subira finally brought her eyes over to Scar.

"Not Hamu… nor Thamani, nor my father. Is this understood?"

Scar quickly blinked.

"Yes, Madame."

Subira gave a low, stern nod.

"Good."

Scar just gave her a blank look, unsure of what to think. This wasn't exactly what he expected to hear, but he assumed this was a good thing. If this was the sole purpose of their conversation, he didn't know why he was so worried.

Scar's eyes suddenly broke out onto the water hole.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" he asked.

"That's it."

The apprehension he felt before started to fade. Scar's mouth began to twist into a smile and he released a sudden, relieved exhale. He eased up a little bit.

"_Oh_," he piped, a little more good-naturedly than usual.

"I want to start tomorrow," Subira then added on. "Hamu, Thamani, and my father are going to help as well."

The lioness then raised herself up... standing properly on all fours. She looked at Scar.

"So don't sleep in."

* * *

"—Pick me!"

"-No."

"—Pick _ME!_"

"-No."

Meanwhile… dead set in front of Pride Rock, the sun was out and shining. Birds were singing… and Timon and Pumbaa… were being Timon and Pumbaa.

Timon hopped off the back of his warthog comrade and desperately fell to his knees on the crackling ground in front of Kovu. He clasped his little paws together.

Kovu halted in his tracks… and pulled away a foreleg in utter disgust.

"Please, please, _pick me!_" Timon wailed. "I'll do anything! This would mean so much to me!"

Kovu ignored him and continued on. Pumbaa trotted up in front of the dark lion.

"Oh, please, oh, please oh, please oh, _pleeeease?_" Pumbaa wheedled excitedly. "I _love_ weddings! I'd be _so_ honored to help you! Can I, huh? Can I? Can I? _Huh?_ Please?"

Kovu exhaled with frustration. He pinned his eyes shut and whirled around in the other direction. Timon and Pumbaa ran after him and continued to badger him.

"Come on, _kid!_" Timon urged. "I'd be _GREAT!_" He hopped up into the air, wildly waving his arm around voluntarily. "Pick me! Buddy? Old chum? Best pal!_ Amigo!_"

Kovu clenched his teeth and walked away with his head down. Apparently, there was no escaping the duo. Timon then went on throwing all sorts of flattery to him.

"You're like a _brother_ to me, kid!" he declared. "Come on! I've always liked you, Kovu!"

The hand-picked heir for the long-forgotten Scar said absolutely nothing. This only made Timon angrier.

"_Hey, _KID!" he squawked. Timon jumped up on Pumbaa's back again. "Ya gotta pick somebody _sometime!_"

Kovu indifferently twirled around.

"-I haven't made up my mind yet…" he called out to them. Timon stood irritably on Pumbaa's back and positioned his paws on his waist.

"…How hard could it _be_ to be a best man?" he shouted back coarsely. Timon wafted his paw around to talk with it. "…Just do whatever you say, stand by your side at the altar, and anything _else_ that needs to be done away with- I'll do!"

"-But this day is _really_ important to Kovu!" Pumbaa interjected, glancing up at Timon on his head. He happily looked back at Kovu again. "…Whoever _he_ picks, needs to be _really_ special to him!"

Kovu sighed.

"Look, guys…" he began. "…I don't want to pick _either_ of you. It'll be like playing favorites. You're just going to take it the wrong way if I pick only one of you."

"'_The wrong way?'_" Timon shrank back, astounded. He placed a paw to his heart. "What're you saying? That _I_… am incapable… of handling _rejection?_"

"No offense, Timon," Kovu said. "But you're a little sensitive when you get turned down… not to mention your _own_ relationship with your mate is on the rocks."

This made Timon irked.

"'On the rocks?'" Timon repeated. "'ON THE ROCKS?'"

This caused the assertive meerkat to leap off Pumbaa once more. He hit the ground and stood up to directly challenge Kovu.

"Prepare to eat your words! I'll show _you_ sumthin' that's _'on the rocks!'_"

Timon turned around in a single instant, and cupped a brown paw around his mouth.

"HEY, KHEEVA!" he yelled, full New York style across a long plain in Pride Lands.

Pumbaa and Kovu turned their heads to watch.

In the far distance, said female meerkat was trailing along the plain. Kheeva suddenly stopped, and paused tentatively at Timon's voice.

"…IS OUR RELATIONSHIP ON THE ROCKS?" Timon squalled out.

Kheeva stared at him from afar.

She nodded as an answer.

After she had, Timon came crashing to his knees, and started bursting out in sobs.

"-_Our relationship's on the rocks…!_" he bawled mournfully. The meerkat buried his face into his paws and wept pitifully.

Kovu and Pumbaa stared worriedly at each other… with nasally sniveling in the background.

Kheeva watched this across the savannah, and shook her head hopelessly. She returned to whatever she was doing.

Timon sniffled and raised his head.

"I don't get it! I didn't even do anything!" he cried out. "She just wants to blame me for what happened! _She_ didn't know anything about that stupid panther, _either! _Why is it that women always have to say that they're right _all _the time?"

Kovu blinked. At least his previous point about Timon's sensitivity was proven.

Timon tossed his head back.

"I knew _hakuna matata_ couldn't last with commitment!" he crowed. "WHO AM I KIDDING?"

Timon then wiped his nose along his furry little arm, mucus coming with him. Kovu and Pumbaa raised their upper lips together in revulsion. Timon continued to vent.

"…Mates are for saps, that's what! What _bonehead _in their right mind would get one? You'd have to be a pretty dumb _idiot_ to chain yourself to some _girl _for the REST OF YOUR-"

Kovu _ha-hummed_ loudly to get Timon's attention. The heartbroken meerkat glanced up. Kovu stood there darkly, a smirk cupping up the corners of his mouth.

Timon looked dead horrified… remembering he was still trying to win his favor for best man entitlement.

"Did I say that? Ho, ha, _ha!_" Timon smiled happily and hopped to his feet, pretending nothing even happened. "W-what I meant was… _other idiots!_ And you're certainly no idiot, Kovu! Marriage is fun! Oh, yeah. Here's some advice for ya, kid… DON'T MESS UP! For _Pete's sake_- don't loose her! _Suck up _to her if you have to! Kheeva makes me happy! Happy, happy, _deliriously happy!_"

Timon dropped his grin. He grimaced anxiously and whirled around, turning his back on the warthog and lion staring at him. Timon stiffened himself up and peered down at the ground.

Kovu and Pumbaa watched him walk off… and watched him quietly stifle his sobs.

They both blinked sympathetically a few times. The meerkat's sobbing faintly disappeared… and someone's footsteps came silently walking up to Kovu and Pumbaa.

Kovu turned to his side. It was Kiara. She looked a little stunned, watching a saddened Timon lumber off.

"…What happened…?" she asked out of concern. Kovu's eyelids hung in boredom.

"Nothing," Kovu answered. But since he just got done discussing the very topic with Timon, Kovu then glanced down… growing a little worried and tense.

His forest green eyes darted back and forth to think. "But, uh… if we ever get into a fight…"

Kiara curiously glanced to her fiancé. Kovu turned to Kiara and flashed her cheesy smile.

"…You're _right_," Kovu finished with a grin. He the raised one of his paws and patted Kiara's butterscotch head affectionately a few times. "You're _always _right, Kiara."

Kiara let out a soft grunt, Kovu's pats making her scrunch up her face a little. Kovu then lowered his paw as Kiara appeared a little confounded.

Kovu departed, quickly leaving both Pumbaa and Kiara to stand there alone.


	15. Bonding

_**10,000**_ _**views for A Murderer's Miracle?! **_**Oh my gosh, I think I'm gonna cry. I should do something special for you guys as a thank-you present. So be on the lookout in the next few chapters for a little something from me.**

**I… just don't know what it is yet…**

**Happy reading!  
**

* * *

Scar supposed there was no shame in letting Subira's family help him. They were doing a lot for him, and the least he could do was let them have their way. Any other normal lions out here in the desert that _could _have found him would have probably disregarded his existence and left him to die alone. Or eat his remains before the buzzards did.

But they apparently liked him. It helped to know he had some encouragement with all the confusing things he was going through.

Scar woke up the next morning with Thamani poking him in the side shoulder, telling him that Subira and her were supposed to teach Scar how to—_honestly_—catch his own prey, and that the time of the kill was nigh. (An actual quote, he might add).

So Scar headed out with Thamani, and eventually met Subira in the middle of a hot, isolated plain. Subira then spent the next five minutes giving the lesson that he would never succeed in life if he was always dishonest with himself, and told him that dromedary camel would be easier for him to catch.

Scar learned something new that day. Subira advised him to always check if there are any secondary options in prey when hunting. It allows one to decide which kinds of prey would be easier to chase: a clamoring mass of razor-horned Cape Buffalo that can skin your eyeballs out… or a nice, docile herd of camel grazing in the grasslands that you didn't know about. Which one would you rather pick to hunt down and kill?

Simple logic. Scar was no huntress, but he connected with her illustration regardless. Perhaps all lionesses knew this?

He then inwardly exhaled, and prepared to conceal himself behind a small thicket of grass. The camel herd didn't even notice Scar watching them from within the stiff grass.

But all too suddenly, a familiar, yipping, giggling sound broke through the silence.

This made every camel's head in the herd gaze up from the grass they were eating to scope around their environment.

The three lions then hastily looked around, wondering what was going on … and then Scar and Subira found the source of the laughter.

Apparently, they had a bad record with this trio. The three spotted hyenas that Subira and him had come face-to-face with yesterday came breezing down a nearby sand dune, running straight into the camel herd.

They looked like they were having a ball. Although she had no idea who they were, Thamani looked in the same direction with curiosity.

"HEY, LOOK!" the male said. "IT'S OUR OLD PALS FROM THE HUNTING FIASCO!"

"-_We're out of here_," Subira said. She ushered Scar and Thamani to head in the opposite direction.

* * *

The day turned out even worse a few hours later. Since Scar's attempt to hunt that morning had ended in failure… Subira insisted that Scar stay with the family, while she went off and got something for everyone to eat herself. While she was gone, Scar stayed with Grandfather Lion and the kids. Scar also learned that day that you should never leave Grandfather Lion alone with his grand kids. Because he would start talking about one thing, and then eventually nod off and fall asleep. Seeing that the situation now was lacking a lot of entertainment, Hamu and Thamani then got the idea to play a game. They approached Scar who was sitting nearby on a layered rock, quietly mulling something over to himself.

The case of lost identity still dismayed him. The longer he tried thinking about anything that had happened to him before he got his head hit, the more and more his recollections slowly began to drain away from him again.

A stupid, endless loophole.

When the children appeared at the foot of the rock, Scar came out of his thoughts and looked down.

Hamu spoke first, rocking back and forth on his legs.

"Mister Lion…" he said. "…Thamani and I wanted to go play hide n' seek. But we need someone to come an' look fer us."

Thamani looked back at Scar.

"Grandpa's asleep," she said. "You wouldn't mind doing that, would you, Taka?"

Scar just sort of looked at them with his paws overlapping the other. He wasn't to participate in… well… anything. He had too many thoughts he wanted to resolve. Scar then back out to the grasslands.

"I'm… really not inclined…" he said.

Hamu's ears flopped downward and he frowned sadly.

"_Aww_… come on…" he persisted. The child then stepped up closer to him, and adding a big, cheap smile.

"_Pleeeeaaasse?_" he wheedled.

Scar looked tired. He let out a contemplative huff toward the grasslands, then glanced back at the children. Hamu stood there, eagerly waiting on his answer.

Scar moved his mouth sideways, giving an undecided expression. He really just wanted to sit. And think. And remember. Especially remember.

He frowned and looked away.

"Come on, Taka," Thamani insisted. She threw on her best smirk and inched closer to him. "Live a little!"

Hamu looked slightly worried. He cocked his head at Scar funny. Then turned his head to his sister and whispered to her, like what he was putting forward was taboo.

"_Maybe he had another bad dream_…"

It wasn't too far-fetched. Thamani thought for a moment and crept her eyes back up to Scar. The horizon absorbed more of the elder lion's interest and attention… and he still refused to make eye contact.

Thamani then gave a downcast glance.

"C'mon, Hamu," she said. "He doesn't want to play with us. We can do something else…"

After he heard this, Scar slightly turned his head back in her direction… now acquiring a keener sense of attention. He didn't enjoy getting picked at like that.

Thamani then looked back, as though now expecting him to say something. Scar curled in his lips.

Heck with it.

He opened his mouth.

"…One…" he began. "…Two…"

Thamani and Hamu gleefully smiled at each other. Scar continued counting.

"Three. Hurry now, before I get to ten. Four."

The two siblings instantly took off in the other direction. But that was all Scar counted to. He watched the two children race side by side, trying to outrun each other. Thamani found a dead tree to hide behind, and ran up to it to claim it. Hamu followed suite right behind her, but she bluntly put her paw in front of him and pushed him in the face, and the child rolled backwards. Hamu landed in a dehydrated shrub.

Scar couldn't help but involuntarily crack a smile. The boy got up as quickly as he fell down and started looking around. He then took off and searched for another available hiding place.

* * *

It didn't take very long until after Hamu had run off for Scar to detect that something was wrong. He had been gone for quite a long time. Scar looked up to see that the boiling sun had moved another couple inches across the sky. He decided he had sat on this rock long enough, and he got up to try to go find him. He told Thamani where he was going, and she came out from behind her hiding place. She made the resolution it would be safer to go with him.

Turns out Hamu had run off all the way into the plains where the hunting field usually was. The same hunting field his _mother _apparently was trying to hunt in.

Once she spotted her son, Subira lifted her head quizzically. Hamu weaved his way carelessly through the grass filled with Thompson's gazelle. Subira looked anxious.

"Hamu?" she said.

"Hi, mom!"

"_Darling, please don't_-"

But before another word was said, one lone antelope lifted it's head, realizing in horror that there was a cub in their grazing area. A _lion _cub, at that. The gazelle bleated, alerting everyone else. The herd then glanced over in unison to their herald… and spotted Hamu. They all scattered at once and ran into a wild panic, evacuating the field.

Hamu only then realized his mistake… and the satisfied smile on his face slowly melted clean off.

"Oops."

All Scar and Thamani could do was watch from a distance as Hamu's mother tried to make one last attempt to chase after one of the antelope. But the gazelle ripped away faster than the lioness could keep up. They sprung and leapt away like frenetic grasshoppers.

They were getting too far.

Subira began to slow down, physically about ready to admit defeat. She watched the herd fade away.

Clearly, this was not her day for hunting.

Scar made a face to himself. A potential meal had escaped. Again.

The herd made a narrow escape through the clearing, heading straight for the thicket Scar and Thamani were glancing through.

Hamu suddenly issued a shocked face and ducked into the grass to protect his head.

The herd came swarming past him, barely missing the small child by inches. The flow of hooves eventually died down, but by the time that it had, Hamu cautiously looked up. The herd was gone.

* * *

**A/N**

**Yyyeeeaah, it's not much. There was gonna be more, but I decided to cut it out and post early because I felt like I owed you guys (being a month late on the deadline and all…). Anyway, the story will get better… I promise. There's a new Poll on my profile page now that I encourage you to please check out. It lets me know what you guys want more of! Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :)**


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